Catholic Bishops Speak Out

• Posted on November 21, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

“We recognize Government’s efforts in the political realm to address the sin of bribery and corruption in Ghana. The general situation, however, still remains undesirable and needs a more pragmatic approach to address this menace. Corruption continues to permeate all sectors of society and the attitudes and actions that breed corruption seem to be consciously endorsed or unconsciously accepted as the norm. The immorality of bribery and corruption which ignores the ethical code of religion, is on the rise in our country.”

This observation was made in a communique issued at the end of the yearly plenary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference on November 16, 2018.

The Bishops called on the citizens at all levels of society, particularly people of faith, to eschew attitudes, behaviours and actions that support, encourage and condone bribery and corruption. “We also call on Government, especially the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to demonstrate in practical terms, his open statement of commitment to fighting corruption,” the communique stated.

Double-Track System

They commended the government for introducing the free Senior High School (SHS) policy and double-track system, describing these as “creative solutions to serious problems of exclusion and inequality to access to education.”

The Bishops however, called on the government to address the challenges associated with the social interventions it has rolled out.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference, is the central body of the Catholic Church in Ghana, with the mandate to deliberate on matters of concern to the church and Ghana in a bid to stimulate discussion and action.

“We also note that there has been some improvement in reimbursement of claims for health services provided under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). This notwithstanding, there are still huge sums of unpaid arrears and we urge Government to work hard at further mitigating the situation to enhance the services provided at all health facilities,” the Bishops urged.

On the financial sector, the Conference said it was concerned about the recent turbulence and uncertainties in the sector, blaming fallouts in the banking sector as the product of greed, cronyism, conflict of interest, unchecked corruption, impunity, among other vices.

“We commend the initiatives so far undertaken by Government to strengthen regulation with the view to sanitizing the sector and safeguarding the interest of clients,” the Bishops maintained.