The Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated his intentions to incentivise churches and faith-based groups for the massive work they do to support government if elected as President.
Speaking in Sefwi Wiawso, during a campaign engagement with community stakeholders, including the Clergy and Imams, Dr. Bawumia said in spite of the enormous contributions religious groups make to the development of the country, the state does not offer them any incentive to support them, just as foreign development partners get.
This, Dr. Bawumia said, will end under his government, as he will give churches and faith-based groups incentives, including waivers on special equipment and machinery for special development projects.
“I want to collaborate with the Churches and Islamic institutions. If you look at the volume of development work we do in this country, they contribute a lot. They build schools and hospitals but government does not give them incentives,” Dr. Bawumia told the Clergy and the Imams.
“The churches use their own money to do all these without incentives from government,” he stressed, as he continued his case for more support for religious groups by making comparisons with the support foreign partners get.
“When foreign aids come here for development, we call them development partners so they get certain support such as waivers on duties on materials for the construction of schools or churches. But when the Church or Islamic institutions are bringing such materials, they are asked to pay duty. I want to change that,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“I want to change the classification of the churches and faith based institutions as development partners so they will then be entitled to the same incentives we extend to development partners.
“So when they bring equipment for development for schools and hospitals, they will also be exempt from duty. This will help a lot in the development of our country.”
Dr. Bawumia’s proposal was embraced by representatives of the religious groups. In many places he has visited, both the Clergy and Imams have also welcomed the idea.