Prez Mahama interacts with EP Church delegation

President John Mahama has asked faith-based organisations in the country to redirect their attention towards improving the standard of education in rural areas to help bridge the gap between urban and less privileged areas.

He said children could only realise their full potential if they had a good start in terms of quality education and, therefore, pledged the government’s resolve to work with religious institutions to improve educational standard in the less privileged areas.

President Mahama made the call when a delegation from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church called on him at the Flagstaff House last Monday.

The visit was to enable the delegation to introduce the newly elected Moderator of the church, Rt Rev. Dr Seth Senyo Agidi, to the President.

It was also to strengthen the church’s relationship with the state.

Partnership

Underscoring the need for the church and state to work together, President Mahama said the two bodies were partners in development and that the government alone could not satisfy all the needs of the people.

He mentioned the complementary role the church had played in the agriculture and education sectors and stated that the government created space for religious institutions to establish universities in the country.

The President said the disparity between the private and public educational institutions was due to the lack of adequate teachers for which reason he talked about the government’s decision to rationalise the posting of teachers to cater for areas that lacked teachers.

Health

On health, President Mahama acknowledged the challenges currently facing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and said the government was working to restructure the scheme to make it more sustainable.

He indicated that the government would explore new sources of funding to cater for the increasing number of subscribers and called on stakeholders to collectively think of new funding sources to make the scheme sustainable.

President Mahama said the government was studying the actuarial work that had been done on the NHIS, based on which recommendations would be made to improve upon the health delivery system.

Moderator

Rev. Dr Agidi, who had earlier raised concern about the falling standard of education and conflicts in some parts of the country, called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, work to address those concerns.

He also expressed concern about the high incidence of moral decadence in some educational institutions and poor health delivery in the rural communities.

Describing the EP Church as an entity for the propagation of the Gospel and the establishment of educational institutions in the country, Dr Agidi said the church would not relent in its efforts to complement government’s efforts.

Rev. Agidi called on the government to involve the church in the running of mission schools and health facilities in order to improve service delivery.

He called on government functionaries to demonstrate a high sense of responsibility in the discharge of their duties.

The delegation was accompanied by the Minister of Transport, Ms Dzifa Aku Attivor and the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Mr Koku Anyidoho.