Parish priest at the Christ the King Church Rev. Father Andrew Campbell has called on Ghanaians to eschew dishonesty, which he says is retarding Ghana’s development.

Speaking to Class News on the sidelines of a musical concert organised as part of his 70th birthday celebration, Father Campbell advised Ghanaians to live honest lives.

“What really disturbs me most is all this dishonesty and the corruption,” he stated.

“People are not living how they should be living. People pretend, people are not living their marriage vows, they are not living with honesty in their lives. That is what upsets me.

“Ghana is blessed with all the minerals... and that is what upsets me, we shouldn’t be a Third World country. Germany does not have all the natural resources in that country, but Germany is on top of the world. But we have all these natural resources and what do we do? What is happening? Why?

“What is pulling us back in every way? If everyone says we want to be honest, Ghana will no longer be a Third World country. Ghana will change overnight and we will have a happier country in every way.”

For his part, the Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, urged Ghanaians to change their attitudes towards the sick.

According to him, the sick in the society have been ignored for far too long.

Father Campbell has been the patron of the Weija Leprosarium for years and Archbishop Plamer-Buckle believes Ghanaians can learn from Father Campbell’s example.

“Most probably, what Father Campbell stands for is what he himself said. He always wanted to be a priest in order to be able to do something beautiful for God. So, what do we learn from him? Father Campbell is a very selfless character; any little thing he gets, he thinks of what somebody else could do with it,” he stated.

“What can we learn also from him as Ghanaians? First and foremost as Ghanaians, we would have to start changing our attitude towards sickness, and especially leprosy, as if it is a curse; it is not. It is just a bacterium that renders a person sick.”