VIDEO: I was joking when I said we should pay churches – Bawumia clarifies
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.”
- Advertisement -
Flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has clarified that he was joking when he said the state should pay churches in the country.
According to him, those comments were made in jest and not to be taken literally.
- Advertisement -
During a meeting with the Clergy in the North East Region as part of his nationwide tour, the Vice President explained that his statement may have been misconstrued. He emphasized that his intention was to acknowledge the significant contributions of churches and other faith-based institutions to national development, including the construction of schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure.
- Advertisement -
“Look at the number of hospitals the churches have built. Look at the number of universities the churches have built and 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.”
Addressing the gathered clergy, Dr. Bawumia stated, “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.”
After promising to incentivise churches, he has now made a U-Turn that he was only joking.
You see why we have always maintained that Bawumia is a Jocular Veep? He keeps on flipp-flopping.#junkeconomy #FixTheCountry #nesstime pic.twitter.com/igS0EGn3NK— Umar Hanif Bobby (@Uhbobby12) May 14, 2024
- Advertisement -
This clarification comes after Dr. Bawumia’s initial comments were made during a meeting with the clergy in the Bono East region last Friday, May 10. At that time, he had expressed appreciation for the extensive contributions of churches to society and proposed providing incentives to support their ongoing efforts in national development.
“Unless you don’t understand the work the church has done. If you are looking at the buildings, the way they keep the society together, the universities, the hospitals, the schools, it is massive. It is just massive. Many churches have hundreds of schools. So I don’t see and I will not have a situation where we are taxing churches.”
“We will rather want to give churches incentives to support what the government is doing. I want us to be partners in the way that the development partners are with us. You are our domestic development partners and we will give you incentives to do more.”
Watch a video of the Veep’s clarification below:
NPP Flagbearer, Dr Bawumia clarifies recent statement about churches being paid, says he was joking… #GHOneNews #GHOneTV #Election2024 #ElectionHub#NPP pic.twitter.com/C7CUiAizqN
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) May 13, 2024
- Advertisement -
