Ghana’s Moral Renaissance: National Development Conference proposes the establishment of an integrity council

The inaugural two-day National Development Conference spearheaded by the Church of Pentecost, culminated in a resolute call for the establishment of a National Moral and Integrity Council, aimed at combating the distressing decline in moral values in the country.

Under the theme, “Moral Vision and National Development,” the conference, impeccably hosted by the esteemed Church of Pentecost at its convention centre at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central region, from 26th to 27th July 2023, presented ten crucial recommendations.

These recommendations address the pressing need to tackle the alarming erosion of moral standards in Ghana.

Attended by over 2000 stakeholders representing diverse segments of Ghanaian society, including religious groups, traditional authorities, political parties, media, professional bodies, civil society organizations, and the clergy, the conference diligently identified nine root causes responsible for the rapid deterioration of moral values in the nation.

Among these key observations was that, the moral character of the nation has witnessed a decline, evident in the inefficiency displayed by leadership at all levels, spanning from family units and chieftaincy to religious and political spheres.

This degradation has also manifested in the lack of integrity, disrespectful public discourse, corruption, and a scarcity of patriotism and volunteerism in Ghana.

Despite over 90% of the population identifying as religious, the influence of religious bodies and non-state actors in shaping the nation’s moral character and development has been insufficient.

Furthermore, the conference acknowledged that the voices of non-state actors, such as Faith Based Organizations (FBOs), traditional authorities, media, CSOs, and interest groups, have not resonated strongly enough in the ongoing fight against corruption, impunity, and injustice in society.

In light of these revelations, the conference emphasized the urgent necessity for leaders with moral fortitude to steer the nation’s development sustainably.

Thus, as a crucial step towards realigning the moral trajectory of the country, the conference proposed a series of key interventions. Foremost among these interventions is the establishment of a National Moral and Integrity Council (NMIC) endowed with a stature comparable to that of the Peace Council. The NMIC’s primary mission would be to initiate a comprehensive process of restoring generations of decay and moral decadence that Ghana has endured over the years.

“Establishment of a National Moral and Integrity Council (NMIC) with the stature like that of the Peace Council to begin a process of restoration of generations of decay and moral decadence that Ghana has experienced over the years.”

In an interview with Joy News following the announcement of the conference’s communique on the implementation approach, Justice Eric Kyei Baafour, the Chairman of the National Development Conference committee on implementation, who also serves as an Appeal Court Judge, shared insights into the strategy.

He stressed that the council’s engagement would extend far beyond the political class, encompassing religious groups, traditional authorities, and the National Commission on Civil Education (NCCE), among other vital stakeholders. Justice Baafour affirmed that the next crucial step after this communique would involve devising a comprehensive plan that would reflect the conference’s findings.

“The strategy would be to begin engagement with all the necessary stakeholders, not necessarily the political class. We will be dealing with religious groups, traditional authority, we will be engaging in terms of education of the public with the National Commission on Civic Education and all the institutions, civil society organizations, we are taking it from there.

He added “the first step after this communique is to come up with that plan or strategy and that will be a reflection of the report that we will come up with.”

Find below the full communique issued at the end of the conference, which marks a significant stride towards fortifying Ghana’s moral fabric and fostering a brighter and more prosperous future for the nation.

COMMUNIQUE ON THE FIRST EVER NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
ON THE THEME ‘MORAL VISION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT’ HELD AT THE
PENTECOST CONVENTION CENTRE(PCC) FROM 26TH -27TH JULY 2023.

We, the over 2000 stakeholders drawn from a broad spectrum of the Ghanaian
society (Religious groups, Traditional Authorities, Political Parties, Media,
Professional Bodies , CSOs, Clergy etc.), met at the PCC, Gomoa Fetteh under
the auspices of the Church of Pentecost(CoP) to develop the first ever Moral
Vision Plan to inform Ghana’s development agenda between 26th and 27th July,
2023.
Having taken cognisance of the decaying nature of moral issues in Ghana and
its impact on national development, and disheartened by the short-
sightedness of policy development and implementation, rooted in partisan
party manifestos instead of generational planning observe as follows:

1. That, the moral character of the nation has dipped, as evidenced in the
   increasingly inefficient leadership at all levels (such as family,
   Chieftaincy, religious, political etc.), degradation of the environment,
   lack of integrity, disrespect in public discourse, corruption, lack of
   patriotism and volunteerism in Ghana;
2. Ghana has over 90% of our population being religious yet the impact of
   historical responsibility placed on religious bodies and other non-state
   actors to shape the moral character and development of the nation
   continues to suffer;
3. That unless we move away from the current status quo to a one that
   anchors an environment hostile to all forms of corruption and excesses,
   we cannot reverse the downward trend of moral decadence we
   continue to witness in our country;
4. The absence of integrated moral values in our educational and social
   systems is producing dishonest intellectuals instead of citizens with
   moral and patriotic values;
5. The continued erosion of Ghanaian values and westernisation of our
   culture manifesting in the loss of confidence in our time-tested culture
   continue to be a worry;
6. Though we have enacted various laws, we need citizens with the
   requisite moral character to implement these laws in the form and
   manner required by society;
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7. That Political leadership has failed to respect the principles of inter-
   generational equity and sustainable development in our development
   equation;
8. That the media is abdicating its watchdog role, due to the excessive
   politicization and ownership structure of media houses; and,
9. Realising that the issues of law, equity and good conscience provided
   for in our constitution is gradually missing from our development
   equation.
   Having come to the realisation that morality is not subjective but having an
   objective appeal which must sit with the letter and spirit of our Constitution,
   We recognize:
10. That, the voices of non-state actors including Faith Based Organisations
    (FBOs), Traditional Authorities, Media, CSOs and interest groups etc.,
    have not been audible enough in the fight against corruption, impunity
    and injustice in our society;
11. What we urgently need now are leaders with the moral conscience of
    the state who would carry through the development of our nation in a
    sustainable manner.
    To achieve the total development and the urgent need to restore the authentic
    Ghanaian value system, we recommend and commit to the following:
12. Establishment of a National Moral and Integrity Council (NMIC) with the
    stature like that of the Peace Council to begin a process of restoration of
    generations of decay and moral decadence that Ghana has experienced
    over the years;
13. Undertake a vigorous national integrity campaign to sharpen the moral
    consciousness of Ghanaians;
14. That this National Moral Vision Development Conference be held
    periodically (annually) to engage with stakeholders on the issue of moral
    vision and its impact on the development of our country;
15. That all spheres of leadership including traditional, religious as well as
    political leadership be re-oriented in a national transformation agenda
    premised on high moral values;
16. To put in place an intentional, systematic, formal and non-formal
    training for political leaders to ensure they are continously groomed in
    their roles;
17. The urgent development and implementation of a national moral re-
    orientation programme for the citizens particularly the youth;
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18. Mainstream media accountability into our development agenda, by
    developing a Charter to sanitize the media space as part of the overall
    national moral vision plan to be developed;
19. Patriotism must be at the heart of all private and public engagements
    and must receive attention in the curricula of our educational,
    professional and vocational institutions. This must be reflected in all
    media contents, national priority directions and policy making decisions
    for the nation;
20. We urge for the commencement of a vigorous national campaign along
    the lines of “Operation Feed Yourself” in the mid 1970’s, for the
    inculcation of moral values of patriotism, hard work, integrity, love for
    country, country first and excellence in every sector of the Ghanaian
    society; and,
    10.Finally, we recommend the setting up of a multi-electoral team
    facilitated by the Faith Based Organisation (FBOs) to continuosly engage
    the NCCE, CHRAJ, and other relevant stakeholders to actualise the
    National Moral Vision Plan.
    Ghana can work again and we must make it work!
    We believe this conference will be the watershed for moral, ethical and sound
    re-awakening for Ghanaians and Africa.
    Ghana must be the last best hope for Africa to re-awaken our morals in
    development.
    SIGNED BY THE CONFERENCE CHAIR ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPANTS