President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Christian businessmen and women to put a high premium on honesty and truthfulness to advance the anti-corruption fight.
They should participate actively in the transformation of all areas of society by ensuring that the morality of the teachings of Christ is reflected in their dealings in the marketplace.
The President 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, being held on the theme: “Empowered for Service, “ is the second such event to be held in Africa and the first for Ghana by the world’s largest Christian businessmen organization.
Over 2000 businessmen and women from across the world are participating in the event. They will deliberate on leveraging their services effectively to develop their respective countries.
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that Christians were 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.
“Conventions such as these which enable us 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 daily lives.
“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.
“We however forget that we have a significant number of Christians in each of our countries, who together, help create a counterculture of honest businesses and honest dealings,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo pointed out 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.
“It is worth bearing in mind that it is not only the headline corruption, the type that involves politicians and high-profile figures that retards our progress and hinders our development.
“Indeed, it is about breaking rules and regulations in many aspects of our lives and wanting to, and circumventing the laws that are meant to guide our society.
“It has to do with driving recklessly, 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.
The President insisted that corruption was not an exclusively African phenomenon, but a situation all nations of the world are grappling with.
However, 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 the State.
“Our fight against corruption in Africa has to be grounded on legislative, financial and institutional action and not just on lip service,” he added.
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.
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