The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP),Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated that his administration will never tax churches and faith based organisations in the country, but will rather give them incentives to do more for mother Ghana.
According to him, a joke he introduced into his recent comment when he met the clergy in the Bono East region last Friday, May 10, 2024 has been misconstrued to mean that his government would pay the churches, but that was not what he meant.
“Look at the number of hospitals the churches have built. Look at the number of universities the churches have built and the faith-based organizations have built. Look at the number of people the churches and faith-based organizations take care of on a daily basis.
“Can you imagine, just take a thought for a moment that you wake up tomorrow and all the schools, universities and hospitals the churches have built disappear. They just disappear. How would Ghana be like? Ghana will collapse. Isn’t it? We will not survive in this sort of situation because there will be chaos.
“So at that point I was joking and I said Oh! …people are talking about taxing churches. I don’t believe, and we will not tax churches. Because if you look at the work the churches have done, then I was joking then, maybe we should have actually paid them for what they did, not really trying to tax them.
“But I wasn’t really saying we should pay churches, no. I am saying that we should give incentives to churches to do more,” he said, during a recent meeting he had with the clergy in the North East Region
The Vice President and the NPP flagbearer has always expressed his belief that taxing churches was not the way forward, a stance he repeated during his tour of North East Region. To him, incentivisation to encourage greater contributions from religious organizations was the best way to go.
During his meeting with the clergy in the North East region, Dr Bawumia drew parallels with foreign development partners who receive incentives and argued that churches and faith-based organizations should similarly benefit from tax exemptions, especially when importing goods for essential projects like the construction of schools and hospitals.
He also emphasised the critical role of the church in instilling moral values within society and that neglecting this essential aspect, would highlight the potential consequences of a society devoid of strong moral guidance.
Bawumia’s pledge to nurture a golden age relationship with the church signifies an acknowledgment of the invaluable contributions of religious institutions. By advocating for mutually beneficial policies, Bawumia aims to cultivate a harmonious partnership transcending political divides, ultimately fostering sustainable development.
