Reverend Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana
• Rev. Mante has cautioned Ghanaian youth against lamenting on social media
• He says the youth should rather take up the mantle and contribute to the development of the country
•He also wants politicians to desist from mismanaging state funds
Reverend Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has taken a swipe at the #FixTheCountry crusaders, charging them to take responsibility for their actions.
Reverend Mante is worried that instead of Ghanaians making personal contributions to the progress of the country, they have shifted the burden to the leadership.
He fumed that rather than embarking on a social media campaign to have the country fixed, the campaigners should rather engage in some activities that will impact the nation’s progress.
Speaking at the 38th Annual Delegates Conference of the Presbyterian Church, Reverend Mante observed that whiles it is easy to engage in lamentations, the same cannot be said of executing ideas needed to develop the country.
“Martin Luther King Junior once said anyone who is not committed to something is not fit to live. It is always easier to sit on the fence and talk and criticise. These days there is social media and people will just turn to social media. They are just sitting there, they won’t work saying fix the country, fix the church, fix the family but the only thing they will not fix is their mouth,” Rt. Rev. Mante said when speaking at the 38th Annual Delegates Conference of the Presbyterian Church.
Reverend Mante furthered that the development of the country is a shared responsibility and should not be left in the hands of the ruling class only.
He sought to enlighten Ghanaians on the governance system being implemented in the country and urged the citizenry not to engage in ‘unnecessary lamentations.
“I will tell you something. Seriously I will tell you this. There are different ways of organising a country. One is the socialist system and the other is the capitalist system. In the socialist system, they give all the authority to the government and the government alone must fix it. In the capitalist system, every individual has their own authority to do their thing.
“In a third world like Africa, the best system for us is to have the hybrid, a bit of this and a bit of that. So no government can fix the country alone, it will not happen, people must get up and work and stop being lazy and work.”
Whilst taking on the youth on their attitude, Rev. Mante did not mince words in telling the government to invest the taxes of citizens in developing the nation.
Reverend Mante also cautioned the ruling class against mismanaging the country’s resources, charging politicians to put to use the taxes paid by Ghanaians.
“On the other hand, government cannot sit there and take our taxes and chop the money, they must use the money to fix the country better. We need the hybrid, we need both but one thing I don’t want it to happen is for young men and women in this country to sit and think that there is a government somewhere, there is a party somewhere they can come and fix everything, it is not true. It is a lie.
“We must fix wherever we are, we must fix our environment and get job doing and yet having said that in the other hand, if you are taking purse of the whole country like you are taking our income tax. Use it to make the country better. We need both.
“We need people who will fix their mind and the heart, people who will fix their attitude, we need government too that will help fix the country and when the two come together Ghana will become a better place and I pray that it shall be so,” he explained.