The Most Reverend Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana, has described 2019 as the year of God’s goodness for Ghana but full of challenges for the people.

“Good in the sense that we are still alive and we are continuing with the peace and love that has existed amongst us over the years. We have not come through conflicts that tend to divide us so with all these, we can say the Lord has been good to us,” he said.

“We have lived and everything is moving on as normal,” he told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra.

“It’s all about the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord that has been upon us, upon individuals, upon families, upon the nation and upon the world”.

Rev. Boafo, also the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, said at the same time, 2019 was full of challenges that affected the economy, educational system and health sectors.

“And we can say that it has not been that easy at all for Ghanaians”.

He recollected that in the clean-up of the financial sector, a lot of people lost their investment and were left with nothing with no hope for what was going to happen next.

“Families went down with these challenges, and institutions also suffered, while many people had to go through financial difficulty”.

He said unemployment was also an issue and did not improve even though the Government had come through with the Nation Builders Corps (NABCo) and other interventions, adding that there was still the teeming youth “who are still knocking on doors looking for jobs every day of the year”.

In the educational sector, Rev. Boafo said most Ghanaians enjoyed the free Senior High School programme but the challenge that came with it was enormous, especially with admissions that made parents roam all overlooking for placement for their children.

“But apart from that those who gained admission had to go in free and that was a joy to hear….”

Politically, he commended the Government for having worked hard to secure the peace and security of the nation, free movement, and free speech.

“We are still enjoying these things and we are happy for what is happening”.

Having looked at what happened last year, Ghanaians were looking with hope and anticipation to embracing a New Year, “which will be full of all the goodness that we need for ourselves, for our communities, and for our dear nation Ghana.”

He, therefore, urged the Government to continue to improve a lot of the people, saying; “Ghanaians are looking for development that will be to the benefit of all”.

Rev. Boafo prayed for God’s protection, peace, and understanding upon the nation, especially for this election year. “May God grant us his peace that passes all understanding, within and without, and protect the nation from all borders to avoid any infiltration of insurgencies”.