Source: newsthemegh.com/By Rev. Ebenezer Ahenkan Owusu, (PCG, Public Relations Officer)
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. J. O. Y. Mante has called on all the legal advisors of the Church to protect and manage the lands and landed properties of PCG.
He was speaking at the 3rd Annual PCG Lawyers Consultation on Court Cases at Abokobi.
The Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Dr. G. Nii Noi Odonkor welcomed the legal officers of the various Presbyteries to the consultation by indicating that, God has given us the responsibility to manage church lands and properties. This service must be seen and understood as a service to God.
Consultation Theme
This consultation brings together all the legal brains of PCG to discuss the various court cases before the Church. This year’s consultation was under the theme, “Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega: The New Land Act and Resolution of Land Disputes in Ghana”.
The Moderator, during the official opening, explained that “the Alpha and the Omega” is to say, Jesus Christ is from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ because the Alpha and Omega are the first and the last letters respectively, of the classical (iconic) Greek alphabet. The wisdom behind this statement of Christ in Revelation 21:6 means anything that man can ever think of is in Christ. Jesus is saying, you cannot leave Him out of anything.
The Challenge
The Chairman of the conference Mr. A. A. Somuah Asamoah, Esq. explained that PCG is facing many legal issues but the dominant one is on lands. He said, some people buy lands for the church without the signatories of the trustees of PCG being, the Moderator of GA, Clerk of GA, Presbytery Chairpersons, and the National Properties Manager.
Some also bequeath portions of PCG lands to individuals or families without proper documentation from the trustees. He mentioned that getting the trustees to sign land documents must be our priority to close the floodgate of court cases.
Most of the documentation of PCG lands is from the old land tenure system since the Church is almost 195 years old in Ghana. New land acts sometimes turn to make the existing documents or the process of acquisition a misfit.
The Way Forward
The Moderator expressed his hope in this year’s consultation to dialogue diligently on the many court issues the Church is facing to bring them into finality. He asked the lawyers to carefully discuss the new land act passed by the Parliament of Ghana to see the challenges and the prospects for the Church.
The Legal Officer of the Head Office, Richard Dua-Ansah Esq. added that the leadership of our various Congregations, Districts, and Presbyteries who find anomalies in their land documentation must report to the next court to resolve them before litigation begins.
The Legal Officers of the Presbyteries are ready to handle such issues promptly to prevent future challenges. He begged that agents of PCG must check the status of their land documentation. This would help them to solve all issues if need be.