By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Bible Society of Ghana has expressed gratitude to the government for its intervention before the Society could clear its consignment of imported Holy Bibles valued at about GHC500,000 in import duties from the Tema Port last year.
But for this assistance by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, the Holy Bibles, imported from Asia, could have suffered demurrage due to the inability of the Bible Society of Ghana to raise the port charges to clear them.
The Society has, however, appealed to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to help waive import duties on Holy Bibles so as to bring down the unit cost of the Word of God to members of the public, towards affordability, availability and accessibility, to help spread the gospel.
A Member of the Oversight Committee of the Bible Society of Ghana, John Akowuah, made the appeal at Kwadaso in the Ashanti Region at the launch of this year’s Bible Week celebration.
The launch of this year’s Bible Week, hosted by the Triumphant Baptist Church at Kwadaso in the Kwadaso Municipality in the Ashanti Region, focuses on the Bible as a guide for work ethics and national development.
The week-long event will entail activities such as Bible quiz, symposia, fundraising, sale of various forms and versions of the Holy Bible, evangelism and a membership drive to rope in more volunteers into the Society.
Mr. Akowuah, recounting the financial challenges being encountered by the Society as a charity and voluntary organisation, thanked the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs for its intervention last year before the Society could clear its consignment of Holy Bibles at the Tema Port at a cost of about five hundred thousand Ghana cedis.
Explaining the reasons for the choice of the theme for the celebration, Mr. Akowuah said it is to drum home the responsibility of Christians to practise what they learn from both the Bible and church in all their endeavours, knowing that God is omnipresent and sees whatever they do in the open and in the closet.
The Guest Preacher at the launch of the Week, the Old Tafo Area Head of the Church of Pentecost, Prophet Samuel Tetteh Doku, urged Christians to practise the virtues learnt from the Holy Bible in every sphere of their lives, whether at work, the market, social life or relationships, to differentiate themselves from unbelievers.
The Bible Society of Ghana exists mainly to spread the Word of God in Ghana through translating, printing and distributing the original Holy Bible in local dialects to make it easily accessible and affordable.
It has already translated the Bible into about 70 per cent of the popular spoken local dialects such as Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Ga, Sefwi, Hausa, Dagbani and Nzema. It is working on translating the entire Bible into sign language to serve the estimated 123,000 hearing- and speech-impaired people in Ghana.
