Moderator for the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and Chairman of the Christian Council, Reverend Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mantey, has bemoaned the chastisement Christian leaders occupying public offices, face.

Many are tagged greedy. He therefore advised Christian leaders to be content in their quest for power.

“Why is Christianity growing in this country, yet clouded with greed, foul talk, pride and corruption? Some so-called men of God have devised means of extorting money from their church members. They keep on getting richer while their members become poorer. What is all this!”, he lamented.

He was speaking at a durbar and thanksgiving service of the centenary celebration of the Asante Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

Over 9.7 million of the country’s population are Christians.

A number of politicians who find themselves in this category are mostly tagged as corrupt.

“As Chairman of the Christian Council, anytime we meet people in the public space, the non-Christians chide us. They wonder why over 71% of Ghanaians are Christians but there is more corruption. The greed amongst us even shocks me! We want every material thing for ourselves. We hoard heaps of items in our houses and garages. Where are we going with all this? Can’t you ever say it’s okay?” he quizzed.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, urged Ghanaians to desist from tagging only politicians as corrupt.

According to him, all alleged corrupt public officials and civil servants are purported to be Christians.

He believes if a conscious effort is made by these church goers to change their attitude, corruption will be reduced in the country.

“If the 70% Christians are able to change, corruption will definitely be reduced. We will not make any headway, if we always accuse politicians and ignore people in the various churches.

“An example is, as a Regional Minister, I do not sign cheques. Before I can steal from the Regional Coordinating Council, the technocrats must sign the cheque. These technocrats are also Christians. If they decide not to do the wrong things, corruption will be reduced drastically,” he said.

Simon Osei Mensah bemoaned the difficulty in influencing the behavior of the masses positively as politicians.

Rather, he believes the church has a greater influence of breeding honesty in the populace.

Following the passage of E-Levy, which received mixed reactions from the public, a number of people have devised means to avoid the GHC100 threshold.

Chairperson of the Asante Presbytery, Reverend Benson Osafo Kantanka, wants the government to make judicious use of revenue generated.

“E-Levy will be a source of revenue generation. The problem is how to make good use of the money. The money should be used judiciously to build the country. We demand amenities, but the government on its own may not be able to provide them. We will then have to work for it, so the government can deliver,” he said.