The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Cyril Fayose, has pushed back against calls to dismiss Dr Mary Awusi, the CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority.

He is urging restraint and a more measured response following recent controversy over comments about the church.

Speaking on PM Express on Joy News on Tuesday, Rev. Fayose said that while the incident requires strong condemnation, it should not lead to the removal of the CEO from office.

His comments come after Dr Mary Awusi apologised to the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, over remarks linked to discussions on illegal mining, aka galamsey.

The matter drew further attention when the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, issued a public apology to the church leadership.

Rev. Fayose emphasised that the Christian approach should prioritise forgiveness and growth.

“Yes, I wanted to say that as clergy and ministers of God, we are people of grace and mercy. So we give second chances to people, and we see some of these things as learning processes,” he said.

He acknowledged arguments for stronger action but stopped short of endorsing dismissal.

“I will agree with Richard Ahiagbah… that we must go a little beyond just a public apology, we must make a very strong statement about the issue,” he noted.

According to him, the government must clearly distance itself from the conduct in question, while applying firm but proportionate discipline.

“The government must dissociate itself from such conduct, and even if there might be a strong reprimand, without going to the extent of taking away her current position from her, I’m sure by now she has learned her lessons,” he said.

Rev. Fayose also questioned whether the Chief of Staff’s apology alone is sufficient to resolve the matter, insisting that further steps are needed to reinforce standards within public office.

“Yes, I agree with that. In addition to the apologies, we need a statement from the government to its own to tell them that certain things are just wrong and they are just below the best they should not happen,” he said.

He warned that without such action, the public may view the apology as symbolic rather than substantive.

“Short of that, then we will think that the public apology is just something to for the cameras,” he added.

The Christian Council official also addressed broader perceptions about religious leadership, cautioning against generalising the conduct of a few individuals to the entire clergy.

“And then I also want to say that sometimes we bunch all the religious leaders together… there are a few bad nuts… maybe about one to 5% of us cause a lot of problems,” he said.

“So I think it’s important that we single out the bad ones amongst us and call them to order, both at church and at State.”