Religious leaders have agreed for their activities to be regulated - MP

MP for South Dayi Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has disclosed that the regulation for churches being proposed by parliament will focus more on churches run solely by individuals.

Speaking on Joy FM's news analysis programme 'NewsFile', the MP said there is a need for these one-man churches to be regulated as most of the owners use the church for the personal gains.

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor also revealed that per parliament's meeting with the religious leaders in the country, they have agreed for their activities to be regulated.

The religious leaders are expected to submit to parliament the possible forms they believe the regulation can take.

"So we've asked them to send some memorandum with respect to what they think can be done, we are looking at situations where one man, husband and wife or someone and the brother will set up a company by guarantee and set up a church and run the church as a sole proprietorship and do all manner of things in the name of faith that is what we want to avoid, to the extent that they too powerful that they can own television stations and propagate all manner of things in the name of faith ....."

Charismatic churches kick against Parl. attempts to regulate fake pastors and churches

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference have kicked against an attempt by Members of Parliament to legislate against fake pastors and churches.

In a statement released they said “…we do not support any idea of legislating or controlling beliefs, faiths or religious beliefs of our citizens,” the Bishops said in an official communiqué on the matter.

The Bishops disclosed that many Ghanaians go to churches and prophets for solutions to the myriad of problems they face as citizens.

“The problems Ghanaians live with are in many cases not being solved in any practical manner by the authorities. When people are left with no hope they turn to their prophets and to their God for salvation for what should and could have been solved by national authorities,”

“It would be a glaring bias against the Christian faith and Christian churches for pastors, prophets or churches to be picked out for any such legislation. All who propose such things must know that it would only be logical, that such proposals should immediately include legislating how all other faiths in the country must be practised.

“This legislation would logically extend to include how Moslems, traditional healers, fetish priests and any other faiths are being practised in the country,” the Charismatic Bishops stated.

They, however, advised Parliament to pay attention to the numerous issues that Ghanaians have been compelled to solve by prayer.

Parliament to regulate churches

Members of Ghana’s Parliament have called for action against pastors and churches preying on the gullibility of the public.

According to them, the state must step in with legislation to clamp down on what they term abuses of congregants, especially by ‘one-man’ churches.

Contribution to a statement on the need for regulation, MP for Ablekuma Central Ebenezer Nartey said some pastors parading in the country do not deserve to carry themselves as such

“Mr Speaker, you are Reverend Minister yourself, and I believe strongly that you have been monitoring our TVs and radio stations and we all see the attitudes and behaviour of some pastors and some churches,” he said.

Sharing a personal experience, he said some of the pastors are destroying people.

“Sometimes, we ask ourselves is this indeed, Christianity? Mr Speaker, you will see a 60-year-old man or woman being asked to carry 50 kilograms of cement in the name of deliverance, water, bottled water is being sold in the churches for ¢2000, ¢3000 in the name of deliverance. Meanwhile, the same person cannot even get ¢200 to go Korle Bu to find what is wrong with him or her?

“Mr Speaker, it is time that this House will take a decision to see how best we will be able to calm down on some of these churches,” he stated.