Tamale, Jan. 02,GNA - Ghanaians have been advised to resolve to work harder in the New Year in order to make Ghana the preferred investment destination on the continent.

They should therefore eschew laziness, envy and make good use of the fertile lands and other natural resources available to ensure the rapid development of the country. These were contained in separate New Year messages in some churches in the Tamale Metropolis to usher in the New Year.

All churches were filled to capacity on New Year's Eve as people prayed for prosperity,

change in attitude, peace and reconciliation as well as development. Apostle Fred Benson Acheampong, Senior of the Bethany Church Mission in Tamale,

advised Ghanaians to forgive one another so as to receive God's blessing because those

who were not ready to forgive remain in sin. He said: "Those who want to be prosperous should desist from envy, laziness and the

"pull him down" attitude and focus on the positive sides of all human endeavours. He said the country was endowed with a lot of natural resources and with committed

efforts, Ghanaians would come out of the poverty trap to enjoy riches. "Even selling ice water is a form of employment and a profit making business but instead

of people committing themselves to income generating ventures, they prefer to gossip." Pastor Skipper Asupah, District Pastor of the Apostolic Church, called on all to continue

to pray for the country for enjoy prosperity, togetherness and unity of purpose for the

betterment of all. He said through prayers, the country emerged victors in peaceful elections and proved

critics wrong and advised politicians to guide jealously the country toddling democracy so

that Ghana would remain a case study of 'Africa democracy'. Pastor Asupah, who preached on the topic: "I am unstoppable" read his message from

Lamentations 3:23 and said the favour and mercy of God renews on daily basis, of which

Ghanaians would continue to receive blessings. "Each day things are getting better. God did it for the country for a peaceful election

2008. He will continue to do it and what is important is for us as citizens to respect our

leaders and give them suggestions on how to govern rather than trying to pull them down for

just the sake of it" he stressed.