Day: December 25, 2023

In a video address released by the government press service here on Monday, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said that in challenging times everyone needs faith in the future and humility in the face of differences to build a more successful state. Denkov said: ‘We are better, when we are together.’

In his address Denkov said that Christmas is a holiday of love that should be shared with friends and loved ones. He added: ‘On this holy day we can do more – we can be together and overcome our differences. We can have our own opinions, but we should also discuss what unites us and we should care for each other.’

The Prime Minister was optimistic about data that suggested that 60% of Bulgarians expect 2024 to go better that the previous year. He cited data from Eurobarometer, according to which more than 75% of people tend to be optimists.

Denkov said: ‘At Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of good, let’s ask ourselves what is most important to us as a nation. What is the cause that unites us? How can we mak
e life better for all Bulgarians and survive as a nation? Recent budgets have systematically and significantly increased investment in people. We provide social support for families with children and will continue to create conditions for the career development of young parents. Bulgaria has the second highest wage growth in the European Union, and they will continue to grow next year. Our goal is for incomes to outpace inflation by a factor of two. And inflation should be brought under control. We have already managed to bring it down to levels lower than before the war [in Ukraine] and before the energy crises.’

The Prime Minister said that the biggest change under development is turning the economy of cheap labour into an economy of high added value. Strategic investors are already being attracted to Bulgaria, as they value the knowledge and skills of Bulgarians and want to involve them in the technologies of the future. ‘We are already seeing the first results of these efforts – more and more Bulgarians
are returning to their homeland, the birth rate is rising, and, for the first time since the beginning of the transition, families are re-entering the two-child model,’ Denkov said.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Scripture Union, Ghana, has cut sod for the construction of a $7.4m campsite project at Pepawani near Aburi in the Akwapim South Municipality of the Eastern Region.

The ultra-modern multi-purpose project, situated on a 14.2 acres of land comprises a 1000-seater Main Auditorium; 1000-seater Multi-Purpose Hall, Dormitories and 13 Chalets.

It also include facilities such as Administration Block, Sports and Fields, Prayer Garden and reserves, and Gate House with parking.

Dubbed, the ‘Children and Youth Development Campsite,’ the project seeks to provide accommodation for members of SU and end its reliance on public schools during mission activities.

Also, it would help impact positively the lives of more young people through teachings.

Speaking at a community durbar at Pepawani – Aburi to unveil the project, Reverend Morgan Fianko Asiedu, Council Chairman of SU, said over the years, Scripture Union had hosted its children and youth camps predominantly in public Senior High Schools across the country.

T
hat, he explained, was no longer feasible considering the difficulty in securing such facilities.

‘The difficulty of relying on public school facilities and the high cost of using private commercial facilities necessitated the need for SU Ghana to develop a campsite for the ministry,’ he said.

Rev Asiedu said the camp would, therefore, provide accommodation for its members during activities and reduce the financial burden on the Union.

He added that, when completed, the campsite would help imbibe in the children and youth, far and near, a sense of uprightness for the benefit of the community and the nation.

Rev Derrick Koomson, General Director of SU, said the project was a testimony of how God was using SU to reach the rest of the world.

He noted that, the project was an opportunity for the two parties – the SU and the Pepawani community to strike a bond of friendship for the benefit of the youth and the larger community.

‘We are not just coming to construct a building, but also to train the young ones
in the way of Christ so they will grow to become responsible leaders for society and the country,’ he said.

Rev Koomson indicated that the first phase of the project, which involved the construction of a 1000-seater main auditorium and other facilities, estimated at a cost of $4.9m, would commence in June 2024, while the entire project duration was five years.

Rev Koomson also disclosed that, the campsite would be available for the use by churches for their activities, adding that nine of similar projects were taking place across the country.

The Most Rev Paul Kwabena Boafo, the Presiding Bishop of The Methodist Church, Ghana, described the campsite as an ‘intentional project in investing in the young and the youth.’

He said the project would help transform lives of young people of the community and its environs for society, the Church and the world.

He assured the SU of the Methodist Church’s support to ensure that the project materialised.

Nana Kwafo Kwasi Wiafe,Kyidomhene, Pepawani, thanked the leade
rship of the SU for the project, urging the children and youth to make good use of the facility when completed, to acquire knowledge.

Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister, commended SU and urged it to use the facility to impact positively, the lives of the young to ensure that, they grew to become responsible citizens.

Scripture Union Ghana is an Evangelical Christian Organisation which started as a school and Bible study movement in the early 1950s.

It has, since the early 1970s, grown beyond the boundaries of traditional evangelicalism into a hybrid – an evangelico-charismatic movement.
Source: Ghana News Agency