The Kumasi Diocesan Synod of the Methodist Church of Ghana has noted with concern the present economic hardship in the country, indicating that Ghana is in tough times and that things are hard for the citizenry.

The church said even though tough times do not last, it requires people with tough minds to deal with the current challenges of the state.

Rt. Rev. Prof. Osei Safo-Kantanka, the Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, at the opening of the 53rd Annual Synod of the church, lamented over unplanned expenditures, which he believed, had contributed to the present state.

“Do we have a leadership failure in Ghana or Africa in general?” he quizzed, and admonished the various circuits in the diocese against projects that do not meet the threshold of economic prosperity while imploring the church to engage experts in the building of projects to ensure quality and longevity.

In his view, politicians and political parties in the country had relegated development to the background and were only concerned about winning and retaining power.

“We’re always in an election mode and there is no breathing space. All the politicians keep on bombarding with lies, and they think all of us are gullible,” Rev. Safo-Kantanka said.

He chastised the media for not being critically analytical of issues that are churned out from the unbridled mouth of politicians.

On education, the Methodist Bishop said there was a need for the various mission schools taken over by government to be reverted to the churches and mosques to instill discipline, high academic standards and good virtues, asserting that the church was against the current “skirt and blouse” type of school.

The skirt and blouse schools, he explained, was the situation where the primary school is owned and managed by the churches while government owns and manages the Junior High Schools.

Rev. Safo-Kantanka added that the nation could not develop on the grammar type of education it was currently pursuing, noting that part of the solution of the country’s problems lay with technical education.

“Ghanaian parents are interested in grammar type of education because of the way technical education has been structured.

Let this synod go on discussion on what is wrong with technical education. If we can develop interest by granting scholarship for our children to enroll in technical education, so be it,” he suggested.