Methodist Bishop calls for judicious use of e-levy proceeds

Rt. Rev Daniel Kwasi Tannor, the Methodist Bishop of Sunyani is calling on government to ensure the judicious use of proceeds from the E-levy to raise the living standards of people.

The Bishop is calling on government to also ensure "the greatest exercise of accountability and transparency to Ghanaians."

Rt. Rev Daniel Kwasi Tannor was addressing the 2022 Annual Synod of the Sunyani Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana held at Wamfie in the Dormaa East district of the Bono region.

The Bishop was positive that in spite of the challenges that greeted the introduction of the e-levy, there would be ‘‘calm at the end of the stormy reactions. That is the beauty of democracy.’’

Road accidents

Touching on the carnage on roads, the Bishop described as ‘a heart-rending nightmare’’, the situation where several lives are lost through preventable road accidents.

‘‘The question has always been who will the next victim be? It is a serious matter of concern that calls for urgent attention. Society should not leave finding a solution to this distressing problem at the doorstep of the National Road Safety Commission. Everyone has a role to play, even pedestrians.”

He suggested the re-introduction of an elaborate and effective towing system and appealed to the government not relent in its efforts to implement this policy which was shelved when the matter was raised some time ago.

‘‘Besides there should be a reawakening of drivers’ consciousness. Drivers who are key players in the road industry should see themselves as high class professionals into whose hands lives and properties are entrusted. They must inculcate decent habits, listen to advices given by their clients and abhor the abuse of drugs and intoxicants”, he also said.

Touching on the theme of the Synod, which was "Discipleship: Living the transformed life in Jesus Christ", Rt. Rev. Kwasi Tannor noted that for two years, the church has taught on the theme, Discipleship: Teaching everyone to live like Jesus Christ."

He emphasized that discipleship begins with personal encounter with Jesus Christ and a call to follow him, adding that it is a process that leads to transformation.

"Our existence as human beings deeply depends on the mercies of God and calls for total surrender to Him. Such process, involves the presentation of our entire being to the service of God Living the transformed Life calls for total surrender to God. It is a call to serve God in humility."

Youth empowerment

The Bishop announced that the Sunyani Diocese will sponsor twenty-five young people selected from the various circuits of the church to undertake skills training to enable them engage in gainful employment.

"The vocation areas for the training include; soap making, bakery, mushroom cultivation and bee keeping. The training will be done by the National Board for Small Scale Businesses (NBSSB). After the training, the Diocese will donate start-up kits and seed capital to trainees to start their own enterprises."

He also said the church had instituted a ‘Youth Forum’ to bring under control the drifting of the youth of the church to other churches.

He explained that the Youth Forum, which is organized at the Circuit level, gives the youth the opportunity to interact with the Bishop and Lay Chairman to share their challenges and make suggestions to the church.

This, he explained, would not only make the youth have a sense of belonging but will also have some of their concerns addressed.

The Bishop thanked the government for providing an ultra-modern TVET workshop for the Sunyani Methodist Technical Institute, which, according to him has given the school a facelift.