Day: April 14, 2024

The Reverend Mrs Alice Blunya Ankutse, the Ho Fiave Parish Pastor, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Saturday said customary marriage is the bedrock of all marriages and must be revered. 'Customary marriage is not engagement as we are made to believe but the real marriage,' she said, and advised all to respect it. Rev. Mrs. Ankutse said this in a paper she presented on marriage at a three-day retreat of the Ho East Presbytery Catechists Union at Awudome Tsito in the Ho West District of the Volta Region. She stated that though the law had no hand in it, without it ordinance marriage could not be celebrated. She entreated her colleagues not to officiate any ordinance marriage if the traditional marriage was not performed. Rev. Mrs. Ankutse reminded the Catechists that an ordinance marriage celebrated by a Minister of the gospel, who was not gazetted, would not be recognized under the law. Similarly, an ordinance marriage could not be celebrated in chapels not registered under the law. 'Ordinance ma rriages contracted at all places rather than those licensed by the state are invalid,' she stated. 'According to the Act, ordinance marriages are not permitted to be celebrated on Sundays and public holidays.' She said Pastors who were not gazetted or celebrated marriages in unregistered premises could be jailed for not less than seven years. Rev. Mrs. Ankutse advised would-be couples to follow due process in their ordinance marriages so as to avoid any legal embarrassment after the marriage. She entreated the Catechists as administrators of their chapels to liaise with the leadership of their various congregations to register the chapels to qualify for the celebration of marriages. The retreat was on the theme: 'Care for God's Creation, The Role of the Church.' Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Yaw Korankye, a 64-year-old retired engineer based in the United States, has been installed the Odikro of Abura Dunkwa in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District of the Central Region at a colourful ceremony on Saturday. The Odikro, with the stool name Nana Owusu Koku II, was carried in a palanquin amid drumming and dancing through the principal streets of the town. The coronation was graced by traditional authorities, clergymen, politicians and people from all social classes. Speaking to the gathering later, Nana Koku expressed gratitude to God and to his family for the honour done him and promised to deliver on his mandate. He called for peace and cooperation from all and sundry to lead the good people of Abura Dunkwa and strategise to help solve the numerous challenges confronting the community. The Odikro assured the people of his continuous support towards an educational fund to assist brilliant but needy students and charged parents to ensure their children went to school for a better future. Sour ce: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWL) will, from Monday, April 15, embark on an exercise to collect all arrears owed by its customers in the Tema Region. The Tema Area Management of the Company stated this in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Saturday. The task force would be dispatched for the exercise to retrieve all arrears. It, therefore, advised customers to promptly settle all outstanding bills by visiting the nearest pay points. Customers, the statement said, could also use the Momo short code, *170# for MTN users, and *110#* for Telecel and AT users, as well as download the company's customer app for convenient payment. 'Please pay your water bill now to avoid any disconnection and embarrassment,' the communication added. Source: Ghana News Agency

Eighteen youth, who have undergone training in plumbing, tailoring/seamstress, tiling, motor electrician, smock weaving amongst others, have been supported with start-up equipment to assist them as they embark on their journey to self-reliance. The start-up equipment, provided by the SOS Children's Villages in Ghana, included industrial sewing machines, drilling machines, equipment for weaving, plumbing amongst others, and the beneficiaries were from Cheshe, a suburb of Tamale. Mr Alexander Mar Kekula, National Director, SOS Children's Villages in Ghana, who handed over the equipment to the beneficiaries at Cheshe, said it formed part of the SOS Children's Villages in Ghana's Family Strengthening project to empower them to be economically stable. The ceremony was also to inaugurate an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Learning Centre for the Cheshe R/C Basic School in Tamale to help ensure quality education and prepare the schoolchildren for the challenges of the digital age. Mr Mar Kekula sa id, 'In relation to self-reliance, we have in addition provided grants to 70 caregivers to start their own businesses, earn income and care for their children. Our interventions in this regard are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals; No Poverty and Decent Work and Economic Growth, respectively.' He said for the past one year, 'SOS Children's Villages has invested over GHc600,000.00 to empower families through grants, youth start-up tool kits, school support and community empowerment in our participating communities including Adubiliyili, Fooshegu, Chanshegu, Gbulahibila and Cheshe in the Tamale Metropolis.' He announced that as the SOS Children's Villages in Ghana marked its 50th anniversary this year, a project dubbed: 'PUNBO', which was mainly an agricultural intervention to invest over GHc4 million in the lives of caregivers in those communities, would be implemented for the next three years. He expressed hope that, 'The caregivers, traditional leaders and other stakeholders of these communit ies will cooperate with my staff in Tamale to make this project a success.' Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South Constituency commended SOS Children's Villages in Ghana for its interventions to improve on the living conditions of the people in the area. Napari Mahama, one of the beneficiaries, who is a seamstress, lauded the support extended to them, saying without such support, it would have been difficult for some of them to acquire such equipment to establish their businesses. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Right Reverend Dennis Dabukari Tong, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Tamale, has called on Christians, especially the Anglican community, to explore their God-given roles through consistent meditation and Bible reading to understand His assignments. Preaching on the Theme: 'The Lord will gladen the hearts of His people,' Rt Rev Tong said the hope of Christians came from the resurrection of Christ, who atoned for their sins. During the sermon at the Saint Cyprian's Parish in Bolgatanga, he indicated that Christ rose to give humanity new life. 'If we will work for Him, believe in Him, and serve Him, we shall resurrect when we die'. He said Jesus' quizzing of the disciples after his resurrection was to let them know Him better for the assignment ahead and to affirm that the restoration of Israel and God's people had been fulfilled. 'We those who have become followers of Christ, it is clear that all of us need to know and understand scripture to play our roles as Christians'. The Bishop, who reite rated the significance of the story of Christ's death and resurrection, said: 'Every Christian has a part in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus says Christians are witnesses to His ministry and are to witness the word to the world to appreciate the purpose of life and death'. He schooled members of the congregation on the nitty gritty of Christian life and the relations factor of Christians and Christ, saying: 'It is hard to work for God, but the reward is the resurrection'. 'Are we always looking to God for what He has for us, or it is what we want from Him. How have we fulfilled our calling as Christians? It is only when we are able to assess our roles as Christians that we can make meaningful assessment of our being'. Rt Rev. Tong, therefore, admonished the congregation to be steadfast and understand their roles as directed by Christ through His disciples. Source: Ghana News Agency