The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) has congratulated President J.A. Kufuor and his government on their efforts at promoting good governance in the country. This was contained in an eight-point communiqué issued after the 8th General Assembly of the Church at Sunyani. The communiqué, read by the Moderator, the Rt Rev Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, however appealed to the president to endeavour to provide explanations to some of his actions to minimize dissent among Ghanaians. It said the 2008 election might come up with many challenges which the country would need to tackle with maturity so as to help preserve the gains of the country’s democracy. Citing an instance from the just ended voter’s registration exercise, the church said there were allegations and counter-allegations of malpractices involving registration of minors and foreign nationals by some political parties. It suggested steps for future guidance, such as the establishment of appropriate procedures whereby persons attaining the ages of 18 could routinely register, to avoid creating back logs. It also suggested that if the registration of newly qualified voters were to be done in an election year, then the exercise should start in January, to provide ample time for a satisfactory registration process. The communiqué also recognised concerns over the prevalence of corruption in the country and acknowledged efforts being made to eradicate it, considering that the development of codes of conduct including financial disclosures and the establishment of appropriate disciplinary measures for public offices were in place to stem corruption. It also commended the government for passing the Domestic Violence Bill into law to ensure the protection of all members of the family from any forms of abuse. The communiqué however expressed the concern about preserving of family unit during the period of incarceration and after the offending spouse is released from prison and suggesting that the government should reconsider the forms of punishment administered to offenders, to preserve the family structure. It also urged religious bodies and institutions to focus more on eliminating poverty from society. The church acknowledge the significant roles religious bodies are playing in the country, such as spiritual and moral development, the promotion of health, education and training people but said "there is an urgent need for co-operation in programme and project activities aimed at social and economic advancement of the poor and the disadvantaged in our society". Source: Times