The General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi has made a passionate appeal to traditional leaders to rule with integrity and selflessness in order to eradicate the menace of bribery and corruption.
When expounding the word “integrity” to specify what he needs from the leaders, Apostle Kumi-Larbi explained it as wholeness, perfection (without blemish or wrinkle), soundness, simplicity, completeness and sincerity; the exact behaviour or personality expected by the clergyman from the leaders of this country.
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Using the concepts of engineering as an analogy to buttress his points, Apostle Kumi-Larbi said in engineering, a structure such as a bridge or a building would be described as having “structural integrity” when it is sound and fit for purpose. In the same way, the Christian/Leader who has integrity is sound, reliable, trustworthy, and could therefore be described as dependable. “Leaders must be fit for purpose”, he stressed.
“Our generation critically needs leaders with integrity – people who cannot be bought, will not compromise with wrong, will walk the talk, and will be completely honest in small things as in great things”, he highlighted, lamenting that “unfortunately, integrity seems to be a critical aspect of leadership which are mostly found wanting, both in the church and society as a whole.”
Using the analogy of what informs Paul’s admonishing in choosing leaders for the church and ministry in Acts 6:3-5 and 1 Timothy 3:1-2, Apostle Kumi-Larbi said, God expects his children to stand out and be counted as people who do not yield to corrupt practices but always upholding to ethical values in every area of their lives – at home, in the work place and in the church.
Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi was speaking at the 3rd Royals’ Conference of The Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Kasoa on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 under the topic, “Chieftaincy and integrity”
Zooming in to specifics, the General Secretary revealed that our society is bedeviled with corrupt practices, including procurement breaches, tax evasion, cronyism and nepotism, over and under invoicing, wrongful and inappropriate acquisition of academic accolades for vain glory and acquisition of power. Again, he said we can also talk about lateness to work and closing earlier than expected, the use of office hours for private work/Job, indiscipline and poor time management.
With sorrowful voice, and great disappointment showing on his face, he outlined some of the effects that the country is suffering due to these unhealthy attitudes.
Just to mention a few, he mentioned poor healthcare delivery causing premature deaths, shoddy works in construction, poor roadwork causing road accidents, poor educational system, increasing gap between the rich and poor, inequitable distribution of wealth, the galampsey menace, environmental degradation, land tenure system and total indiscipline.
In order to put an end to this enemy that is ruining our country, Apostle Kumi-Larbi challenged traditional authorities, who are the custodians of our lands and our culture to use their positions to influence their spheres positively and to transform their societies by ruling with integrity that will serve as an example for others to follow. He advised that leaders, especially traditional leaders eschew all attitudes that will bring disrepute to their thrones and kingdoms. Quoting Proverbs 16:12, he cautioned, “it is an abomination before God for kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness”.
He also implored traditional leaders to copy the integrity of Nehemiah on how he led the people of Judah (Nehemiah 5:1-19). “Generally, a position of authority may entitle a person to certain rights and privileges, however, just as Nehemiah remained faithful to God in all aspects of his life, believers are encouraged to be loyal citizens and conscientious, faithful workers, especially when in a privileged position of authority”, he advised disclosing also that, Nehemiah used the privileges associated with his position to serve his people. “Leaders are not supposed to use their position to amass wealth. Instead, they use their power and resources to help the poor, needy and vulnerable in the society”, he revealed.
The 3rd Edition of the Royals’ Conference was organized by the Chieftaincy Ministry of The Church of Pentecost in collaboration with the Pentecost Men’s Ministry (PEMEM), under the theme, “Equipping Royals As Gatekeepers To Possess The Nations”. Over 1,500 royals (traditional leaders) from Ghana, Togo, and Burkina Faso attended the programme.
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