News
‘Church must lead crusade to protect environment’
The synod Moderator of the Dayi Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, Ghana, Reverend Wisdom Seloame Alorvi, has reminded the church and Ghanaians of their responsibility to protect the environment, which is the creation of God, and not to destroy it.
Reverend Alorvi stated that God created the world and saw all that he created, and said it was very good – Genesis 1:31, and stressed that it was the duty of people who benefited from the creation of God to protect the environment, saying if they could not protect it, they should not destroy it.
The Moderator gave the reminder at a day’s special synod of the Dayi Presbytery of the EP Church Ghana, at Vakpo in the North Dayi District of the Volta Region on the theme: ‘Care for Creation; The Task and Mission of the Church’.
The Synod deliberated on the activities of the church in propagating the gospel to win souls for Christ, and the role of the church in the protection of the environment, which is God’s creation, including our forests, water bodies which are crucial to the survival of the human race.
Additionally, Rev. Alorvi stressed that if God said in His word that everything that he created was very good, then it was the duty of men to take good care of the creation of God, which must be seen in the collective mission and task to care for them and not to destroy them.
He underscored the importance of the church to propagate the gospel alongside educating the people on the need to protect the environment, which was full of God’s creation, saying “any church that did not take good care of God’s creation would be deemed as ignorant of their mission.
Rev. Alorvi observed that Ghanaians belonged to one church or the other, and it is important that the church educate and encourage their members to protect the environment, adding that the inability of the church and Ghanaians to protect the environment would be regarded as negligent of their God-giving task.
Moreover, he said that “if the last tree dies, the last man dies,” highlighting the critical connection between the human race and the ecological world, particularly our forest resources, which underscored the fact that the survival of people was fundamentally linked to the health and well-being of the environment.
Rev. Alorvi also stated that the above phrase raised ethical issues about the responsible use of natural resources and the impact of human activities on the environment, stressing that after all, the very survival as a people largely depended on how the environment was cared for.
The Moderator, therefore, called on Ghanaians to stop the wanton pollution of the environment, plant more trees, dispose of refuse properly, and stop illegal mining popularly called ‘galamsey’ and other human activities that threatened the sustenance of the environment.
From Samuel Agbewode, Vakpo
The Second Deputy Minority Whip, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has defended the conduct of the Minority in Parliament during Tuesday’s chaotic sitting, insisting their actions were to protect what they believe is a violation of parliamentary procedure.
Explaining the incident, he said the Minority was reacting to developments surrounding a letter which allegedly directed that a seat belonging to the MP for Kpandai be declared vacant despite an earlier ruling by the Speaker.
He argued that the Speaker’s ruling should stand unless overturned by a competent court, and described the sudden reversal as shocking and against parliamentary precedent.
Mr Ahmed said the Minority only attempted to make a statement to register their displeasure, but tensions rose when the Majority Leader insisted on responding instead of commenting, which he said was against the rules.
He also denied claims that Minority MPs crossed the aisle, stressing that they remained within their side and only sought the Speaker’s attention.
He further complained that during proceedings, the Mace—the symbol of authority in the House—was not present and Minority microphones were disconnected, making the process one-sided.
He said the caucus intends to continue pushing to ensure that the MP for Kpandai retains his seat, adding that their next steps will be strategic.
By: Jacob Aggrey
President John Mahama has stated that it is too early for anyone to call for the scrapping of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) despite recent controversies surrounding the institution.
He argued that the office remains an important part of Ghana’s fight against corruption.
He explained that government is strengthening anti-corruption bodies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office and the OSP, noting that the OSP is the only agency with the power to independently prosecute cases without going through the Attorney General.
President Mahama said many people distrust the Attorney General’s office because it is headed by a government minister, and some fear it may be slow to prosecute its own.
He believes an independent body like the OSP offers stronger accountability, regardless of who is involved.
He admitted that citizens want to see more prosecutions and visible results, but urged the public to give the OSP time.
He encouraged the office to speed up its investigations to show that it remains relevant in the fight against corruption.
By: Jacob Aggrey
