Month: April 2024

The leadership of El-Kana Ministries International in Tema Community Three has unveiled and renamed the ministry as Greater Grace Impact Ministries (GGIM).

Apostle Ernest Adeti, the General Overseer of the church, said at a ceremony to unveil the new name that, the church’s new identity would impact the grace of God on the next generation to know and fear God and serve him with their hearts, souls, and resources.

Apostle Adeti said looking at the pace at which the world is evolving and changing, if the new generation was not brought up in a Godly manner, the world would be chaotic and full of sin. 

He said the core mandate of churches was to impact the new generation through the fear of the Lord, the essence of his resurrection, and the power Christ gave to Christians.

‘The name is a demonstration of Christ in the church, calling out the apostles and faithful followers and giving them power over unclean spirits, casting demons, and pouring out the great grace and power of God that dwells in them,’ he adde
d.

Apostle Adeti said Christians should note that Christ died for their sins and took away their old lives; therefore, their attitudes, characters, and behaviours must reflect Christ.

He said that as a country, it was important for the citizens to be Christ-centered in all their endeavours, showing diligence, transparency, and accountability, whether in the political field, church, workplace, or even with their families and society.

He cautioned Christians against judging and condemning unbelievers, but rather preaching the undiluted gospel and encouraging others to believe in God and receive salvation.

He urged Christians not to lose faith, saying, ‘As humans, we may offend each other or even the one who created us, but that does not mean you should lose faith in God, your first love, or forget about his love; rather, we should hold on to our faith because every step we take in the world will be full of trials and tests.’

Apostle Adeti, touching on the ongoing challenge of the Ghanaian Proper Human Sexu
al Rights and Family Bill, popularly known as the anti-gay bill, said Christian values should be upheld highly as God does not encourage same-sex relationships or marriage, noting that what happened in biblical Sodom and Gomorrah was a clear depiction of God’s wrath if such a thing should happen in Ghana.

He urged President Akufo-Addo to assent to the bill passed by parliament, as failure to do so as a leader might put a curse on future generations and could also disrupt the peace in the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Professor Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Lecturer at the School of Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has urged wealthy Muslims to learn and understand the principles of ‘Zakat’.

He said Muslims, who were in the position to help others financially, needed to be enlightened on the various approaches and techniques guiding the ‘Zakat’, to enable them give in accordance with the Islamic jurisprudence.

According to him, most wealthy Muslims did not have the fair idea on how ‘Zakat’ should be shared, and there was therefore, the need to enlighten them.

‘Zakat’ is an Islamic finance term referring to the obligation that an individual has to donate a certain proportion of his wealth each year to charitable causes.

It is also mandatory for all Muslims in most countries and is considered to be a form of worship.

Prof. Ahmad, who is also the Imam of the KNUST Muslim community, was addressing Members of the Muslims Professionals Association (MPA) on its annual ‘Iftar’ gathering in K
umasi at the weekend.

‘Iftar’ is a meal taken by Muslims at sundown to break the daily fast during Ramadan.

The annual MPA’s ‘Iftar’ sought to reconnect members to share ideas and account to members on their contributions for various projects in the course of the year.

It was also to discuss how members could contribute significantly towards the implementation of development projects that would help the needy and poor Muslims.

Prof. Ahmad who spoke on the topic ‘A successful life vrs pleasant life’, said as Muslims, there was the need for them to acquire wealth through genuine businesses so that ‘Allah would accept the Zakat and reward the believer.’

He said the innate desire to acquire wealth was necessary but should, however, be acquired in the right way devoid of cheating, lotto staking and other forms of money rituals.

Prof. Ahmad pointed out that as Muslims, they had to surrender their wealth for the cause of Allah in order to receive ‘ Baraka’.

Dr. Abdul Samad Muntaka, President of the Associatio
n, said the Association had grown from strength to strength since 2001 and had been able to initiate some projects in various communities across Ghana.

Some of these projects are classrooms blocks (madrasa), mechanized boreholes, free classes for school going children in Muslim communities and currently, building a clinic at Antoa in the Ashanti Regon.

He said members of the Association had been able to build stronger bond amongst themselves and expressed the hope that the friendship would continue to foster further development.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Right Reverend Daniel Slyvanus Mensah Torto, the Bishop of the Accra Diocese of the Anglican Church, has made a clarion call to all political leaders to refrain from actions and utterances that can plunge the nation into conflicts in this year’s elections.

He also appealed to all religious leaders to champion religious tolerance amongst their followers to maintain the peaceful co-existence among the different religious faiths in the country.

Rt. Rev. Mensah Torto gave the admonition during the Annual National Iftar ceremony observed at the Jubilee House, the seat of government, Accra, Monday evening.

The theme for this year’s Jubilee House Iftar was: ‘Upholding the Virtues of Gratitude, Generosity, Peace and Unity Beyond Ramadan’.

This year’s Iftar observation at the Jubilee House marked the seventh edition since its inception in 2017 by President Akufo-Addo.

The Anglican Bishop acknowledged the enormous role the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, had played, over the years to foste
r peace and religious tolerance between Muslims and other religious faiths in Ghana.

He also commended Vice President Bawumia for showing respect to all religious leaders in his public engagements and entreated him to continue fostering peace, unity and tolerance among Ghanaians.

Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, the Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam, said Ramadan represented a unique space of time for muslims to rededicate themselves to the virtues of Allah and show gratitude to Him for His manifold blessings.

The month of Ramadan, he said, was also a period to show thankfulness to God for the gift of life, as well as to exhibit generosity, piety, justice, godly consciousness and humility in their dealings with God and fellow man.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, thanked the guests and all the participants for joining him and the National Chief Imam to celebrate Iftar at the seat of government.

‘I’m privilege to welcome eminent Imams, the Clergy, the Diplomatic C
ommunity, members of the Council of State, Chief of Staff, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament and both Muslims and Christians to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, for the Annual National Iftar observation,’ he said.

The Vice President said the Akufo-Addo-led government had been championing inclusivity in its policy interventions in order not to leave anyone behind in terms of development initiatives.

Therefore, policies like the Free SHS, Free TVET, 1 District-1 Dam, 1 Constituency-1 Ambulance, 1 Student-1 Laptop were rolled out by the Government to make sure that everyone benefited from the national cake, he added.

The Vice President said the government established the Zongo Development Fund to support the infrastructure development of the Zongos.

The Fund had since implemented over 250 projects, including classroom blocks, libraries, mechanised boreholes and astro turfs to improve the living conditions of residents in Zongo communities, Dr Bawumia stated.

Since its historic institution
in 2017 by the government, the Annual National Iftar at the Jubilee House has become a platform where not only do leadership and members of the Muslim Community in Ghana, including the Diplomatic Corps, congregate to observe one of the most important elements of Ramadan, but it has also become a shared platform where Christians, including the Clergy, join the Imams and the Muslim Community to participate in the Iftar.

During the ceremony, muslims were admonished to continue to uphold the virtues of Ramadan such as love, generosity, gratitude and forgiveness beyond the holy month of Ramadan.

Prayers were said for the people of Ghana, as well as for the continuous peace and prosperity of the nation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Benjamin Essien-Davis, a level 300 student of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has donated ten pieces of ultra-modern streetlights to the Students Representative Council (SRC) to help improve nightlife and security on campus as students prepare for their end-of-semester examination.

The donation is to make campus life easier and better to create a conducive environment for teaching and learning.

At a short ceremony to present the lights at UCC, Mr Essien- Davies said it was in fulfilment of a pledge he made at the SRC General Assembly (GA) to assist its ‘Operation Light Up Campus and Diaspora’ for effective and efficient studies.

It formed part of the measures lined up by the SRC to resolve security issues on campus and improve on-campus nightlife.

‘Walking around campus at night is very dangerous due to poor street-lighting systems, and most importantly at this time of the semester when we sit for our end-of-semester examination,’ Mr. Essien- Davies said.

He explained that many of the students us
e the academic facilities on campus at night, but commuting back to their hostels and halls of residence at night was a challenge due to the lack of street-lighting.

Thus, the urgent need to make an effort to light up the campus for students safety and security, he added.

He applauded the Management of the University for the stringent measures implemented to improve security on campus which had created a peaceful environment for academic excellence.

‘Management of the University has deployed the University Security to patrol campus day and night, while University Police Command and the community Watchdog team, are all around to ensure a safe environment.’

In appreciation, Mr. Vincent Kojo Siabi, the UCC SRC President, commended Mr Essien-Davies who is also the Leader of the ‘BenEssien Movement’ for the kind gesture and assured that the light would be urgently fixed to achieve its intended purpose.

Mr. Siabi urged benevolent individuals and organisations to emulate the generosity exhibited by Mr Essien -D
avies and support the SRC in its quest to improve security and nightlife on the UCC campus.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Legacy Crop Improvement Centre (LCIC) in the Eastern Region has made a significant breakthrough in bean production by developing a new bean variety known as Zamzam cowpea.

This has an excellent taste and does not produce any acidic gas, making it a great choice for those who are concerned about flatulence.

Mr Stephen Boadi, the Asene Manso-Akroso District Director for Agriculture, Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the Region, said there were many types of beans that could cause gas to build up in one’s stomach when consumed.

However, LCIC’s latest high-quality beans had proven to be gas-free.

Mr Boadi was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Otareso near Adawso in the Akuapem North Municipality on the sidelines of LCIC’s engagement with the regional agriculture officials from the 33 district and municipal assemblies.

‘Most beans that are consumed make you feel extremely uncomfortable due to the gases in them that one will be releasing when it comes,’ he said.

‘When I asked the ma
nagement of LCIC why their beans don’t cause flatulence and any digestion difficulties, they informed me that the acidic content that contains the gas responsible for causing flatulence has been removed from the beans.’

Mr Boadi appealed to the Government and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support the local seed production company since it could tackle food insecurity and ensure a sustainable food supply.

He stressed the superiority of the company’s maize seeds, highlighting their early maturity, high pest and drought resistance, and higher yields compared to foreign varieties.

Supporting the company’s activities would help it to outperform foreign importers, which could stabilise the cedi by reducing excessive imports.

Ms Tharzia Numako Akwetey, the New Juaben South Municipal Director of Agriculture, said farmers in the area had shown keen interest in LCIC maize seeds.

She pointed out the urgent need for government collaboration with the company to harness the power of its hybrid seeds to enhan
ce productivity in the agriculture sector, especially for the planting for food and jobs initiative.

‘According to farmers in my municipality, maize seed from the Legacy Crop Improvement Centre can withstand any weather. After harvesting its yields are higher than those of the foreign seeds,’ she said.

LCIC is a private seed company and consulting firm specialising in the production and commercial seed distribution of basic vegetables, cowpeas, soybeans, and maize.

It currently operates a 200-acre farm equipped with state-of-the-art irrigation system to cultivate high-quality seeds.

In addition, the company boasts a remarkable 50-tonne seed gene bank and a high-tech cold storage facility.

These cutting-edge resources allow it to store seeds in vast quantities, ensuring their long-term preservation without any risk of deterioration.

Source: Ghana News Agency