Affail Monney, President-elect of the Ghana Journalism Association (GJA), was on Saturday awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Humanity (Honoris causa) by the Pan African Clergy Council and Bible Seminary (PACCBS).

The GJA President-elect, whose thesis research is on the Impact of Social Media on Church growth in Ghana, was awarded alongside Reverend Samuel Asamoah Bediako, Head Pastor and Founder of the Living with Christ Ministry.

The PACCBS graduation ceremony which took place in Accra was on the theme: “The role of the Clergy in nation building”.

At the ceremony which also saw the graduation and ordination of four Reverend Ministers, Rev Dr Frederick Akakpo, Vice Chancellor of PACCBS, said the awards of honorary degrees from the institution were based on the substantial and meritorious contribution they have made to the church, society and their profession.

He said the theme for the event was carefully chosen because activities of the clergy are critical in the development of the nation and should not only be seen as prayer intercessors but rather as partners in governance.

Rev Dr Akakpo urged his fellow clergy to play supervisory roles in their various communities, visit government project sites, schools and ministries, departments and report their observations to the appropriate authorities.

He expressed concern about the alarming rate of ex-convicts being involved in recent crimes and called on the government to reequip the Ghana Prison Service so that they would be in a better position to reform inmates and help make their reintegration into society smoother.

Rev Dr Akakpo also appealed to the members of the Ghana Medical Association to call off their strike for the good of the ordinary Ghanaian.

Rev Dr Stephen Wengam of the Assemblies of God’s Church, in a homily, called on all Ghanaians to embrace diligence in all their dealings saying God rewards diligence.

He urged Ghanaians to fear God and eschew all forms of corruption. Dr Affail Monney, in his acknowledgement speech, said the doctorate degree was a gift and an honour to him and he therefore shares it with his family and the media fraternity.

Dr Monney was born on October 28, 1956 to David Owen Monney and Cecilia Ekua Kosima Korsah both of blessed memory in Accra.

He started his early education at the Methodist Primary School, Adabraka and continued to O’Reilly Primary also in Accra and then to the Abura Primary School in Cape Coast.

He then attended the Amissano Local Authority Middle School near Elmina and having successfully passed the Common Entrance, he then joined the Aggrey Memorial Secondary School in Cape Coast, after which he enrolled into the Ghana Institute of Journalism (1977 – 1979).

Other institutions Dr Monney attended include the International Organization of Journalists School, Prague in the Czech Republic, the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana and the Graduate School of Governance and Leadership, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.

He is currently the Acting Director of Radio, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and the Out-going Vice President of the GJA.