President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has implored Christian businessmen and women to imbibe in their business dealings, morality, honesty and truthfulness to further push forward the fight against corruption.
The President urged them, also, to actively engage in the transformation of all areas of society by ensuring that the teachings of Jesus Christ reflected on their dealings at the business place.
President Akufo-Addo made the call when he opened the 2023 World Convention of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI) in Accra on Thursday.
The three-day convention of the FGBMFI, being held on the theme: “Empowered for Service,“ is the second of such event to be held in Africa and the first in Ghana by the world’s largest Christian businessmen organization.
Over 2000 businessmen and women from across the world participating in the event are expected to deliberate on leveraging their services effectively to develop their respective countries.
President Akufo-Addo said Christians are called and sanctioned by God to be the “salt and light” of the world, and they must, by their ethics and attitude, lead the charge against vices that hinder societal growth and development.
“Christians cannot afford to sit below the salt. We must be at the forefront with those who hold onto hope and do our bid to ensure that the encircling doom and gloom in our world is lifted,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo said Conventions such as these which enable Christians to recharge “our spiritual batteries and encourage each other are good.”
“It is better still if the ensuing spiritual change we experience is reflected in our dealings in the marketplace where we spend the larger part of our active lives daily,” he emphasised.
“The authentic showroom for our Christianity is not the church or conventions such as these, but in the marketplace. We tend to point fingers and grumble about corruption in our various respective countries and more often than not, we choose the easy road of laying blame entirely at the doorsteps of politicians.”
President Aku-Addo maintained that Christians, however forget that “we have significant number of Christians in each of our countries, who together, help create a counterculture of honest businesses and honest dealings.”
The President indicated that corruption of all forms and shades, and not only headline sleaze that involved politicians and high-profile figures, affected everyday life, retarded progress and hindered development.
He argued that it was not only the headline corruption involving politicians and high-profile figures that retarded a country’s progress and hindered development, but also about breaking rules and regulations in all aspects of lives and circumventing the laws that are meant to guide society.
“It has to do with driving recklessly, and breaking all the traffic regulations and trying to bribe the police officer when you are pulled up. It has to do with not getting the proper permit to build a house.
“It has to do with looking the other way when something wrong is going on. It has to do with the degradation of our environment, and the pollution of our atmosphere and our water bodies. It has to do with petty bribery and corruption, and it has to do with bribery and corruption on a grand scale,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo insisted that corruption was not an exclusively African phenomenon, but a situation all nations of the world are grappling with.
However, he point out that nations that have been successful in fighting the canker have done so with a robust legal system underpinned by the rule of law, protected the public purse, made institutional reforms, enacted additional requisite laws and resourced more adequately the accountability organs of state.
“Our fight against corruption in Africa has to be grounded on legislative, financial and institutional action and not just on lip service,” he indicated.
Five internationally renowned speakers including Mr Francis Owusu, the Ghanaian International President of the worldwide fellowship, Apostle Joshua Selman of Nigeria, Joan Hunter of the United States of America, Dr Pearl Kupe of South Africa and Angel Caputo of Argentina have been billed at the Convention.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
