People in leadership positions must desist from receiving items of substantial value as gifts.
That’s the advice from a former General Vice-President of the World Seventh Adventist Church, Pastor Mathew Bediako.
He says politicians and church leaders must resist the temptation because it has the potential to influence their judgment and compromise their offices.
Pastor Bediako’s admonition comes amid public discourse on President Mahama’s Ford vehicle gift saga.
Then come claims by outgoing Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rte Rev Prof Emmanuel Martey, that he rejected cash and other property offered him as bribe by unnamed politicians.
While the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice investigates the Ford gift, there are calls for Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey to name the politicians involved in the alleged bribery attempt.
Pastor Bediako says office holders must avoid this.
He was delivering a sermon at the 2nd quadrennial session of Central Ghana Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Church at Ntonso in the Ashanti Region.
“Anybody, whether a minister, politician or a chief or what have you; if you take a gift of substantial value with the purpose of influencing you, it is wrong and should not be done by whoever is in a key position especially when you are a leader because people are following us,” he emphasized.
He continued, “If we as leaders indulge in some of these things, then how do you expect those under you to be able to stay away from you?”
Pastor Bediako later told Nhyira News Ghana needs leaders with integrity who can neither be sold nor bought.
“So in the Seventh-day Adventist Church one of our key statements is that, the greatest want of the world today and I will say the greatest want of Ghana today is to have men and women who cannot be bought or be sold – who will not allow themselves to be influenced by whatsoever.”
Meanwhile, the Seventh-day Adventist Church Central Ghana Conference has elected officers to steer its affairs for the next four years.
The 22-mmeber executive for mother of all the church’s conferences is led by Pastors Yaw Asamoah Kwarteng as President and Joseph Opoku Agyemang, Secretary.
Pastor Kwarteng promised to uphold and protect the integrity of the church whilst promoting healthy living among members.
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