The Vice-Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has announced a groundbreaking initiative to support faith-based organizations driving national development.

Speaking at the annual church conference and unveiling a new constitution of the Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana on Sunday, July 14, 2024, Dr. Prempeh revealed that faith-based organizations that meet a certain threshold in national development will receive additional incentives under Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s vision if the NPP wins the 2024 general elections.

“Under Dr. Bawumia’s vision, faith-based organizations that meet a certain threshold in terms of their contribution to national development will be given additional incentives to enhance their work as development partners,” he noted.

This move, he noted, is aimed at recognizing and empowering faith-based organizations like Kristo Asafo Mission, which have been instrumental in complementing the government’s efforts in areas like education, healthcare, and economic empowerment.

Dr. Prempeh, who is the immediate past Minister of Education, emphasized that the incentives will enable these organizations to expand their reach and deepen their impact, fostering sustainable development and improving lives.

It is also aimed at fostering collaboration between the government and faith-based organizations to promote a culture of partnership and collective progress, he added.

Commenting further, Dr. Prempeh, who is popularly known in political circles as Napo, urged the church to deepen its collaboration and dialogue with other religious bodies to enhance national development, believing that such a move will sustain the peace the country has always enjoyed.

“Ghana is blessed in many ways. One of these is the abundance of peace, cooperation, and dialogue between various faiths, particularly between Christianity and Islam. This is particularly telling in a world where enmity between faiths has, in several instances, spilled into ugly violence and destabilization of entire communities,” he noted.

He added, “Growing up in Kumasi’s Ashanti New Town and Allah Bar enclave in the 1970s and the 1980s, I had many Muslim friends with whom I celebrated Easter, Christmas, and Eid festivals, and our respective religious faiths did not seem to matter in our friendships. I know I am not alone in this, and that this experience is reflected in all corners of our beautiful country. Some of these friendships endure till today and it is a testimony of how far we have been able to grow and infuse religious tolerance into our national life.”

Citing the NPP’s Presidential candidate as a passionate advocate of inter-faith dialogue, demonstrated through his regular visits to and interactions with churches, Dr. Prempeh urged the country to keep working hard to further grow the dialogue between religious bodies and help consolidate the peace the country is enjoying.