Presbyterian Moderator Worried About Youth Addiction To Betting

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, has expressed worry about the increasing addiction of the youth to betting, and called for efforts to check the trend.

He observed that the situation had left many of them in pain and poorer as betting companies continued to cash in on their vulnerabilities.

Rt Rev. Mante was speaking at the dedication of the Daniel Ntow Obese Children and Youth resource centre for the Unity Presbyterian Congregation at Nkanfoa in Cape Coast yesterday.

The project, which was at the ground floor, was taken over by the Obese family which set up a foundation to complete the work in honour and in memory of their father, Daniel Ntow Obese.

The family of the late Daniel Ntow Obese, who was the caretaker of the Unity Presbyterian Congregation at Nkanfoa, constructed the two-storey facility for the church.

It has a 250-seater conference room and 12-seater Information Communication and Technology centre with computers and internet to train the youth in ICT.

Concerns

At the handover ceremony yesterday, Rt Rev. Mante said the nation’s youth faced several challenges such as drug addiction, sex and betting which he said were detrimental to their wellbeing and that of their communities.

He called on the church and other relevant stakeholders to help instil discipline among the youth and also guide them on the path of growth.

The moderator also urged the government to come up with necessary strategies to check such activities.

Rt Rev. Mante further advised churches to set up effective counselling units to help rehabilitate persons with addictions.

He said prayer and deliverance alone which tackled the spiritual aspect of addictions were not enough to adequately deal with the situation, adding that “prayer with specialised counselling will do the work”.

Rt Rev. Mante said it was important churches worked together to create avenues for such people to receive help.

He commended the Obese family for the gesture and pledged that the facility would be put to good use to impact the community.

Scholarship

The wife of Mr Obese, Mrs Elizabeth Obese, who is the Chairperson of the Daniel Ntow Obese Foundation, said the foundation would also support needy, brilliant tertiary students through school.

She expressed hope that the facility would positively impact children and the youth in the community.

The late Mr Obese who worked as a hydrologist was an astute Presbyterian who held various positions in the church.

He was a Presbyter at the PCG–Ebenezer Congregation at Sekondi and St. Paul’s Congregations in Cape Coast and later made a caretaker at the PCG–Unity Congregation at Nkanfoa from 2005- 2020.

As the caretaker, he led the Unity Congregation to acquire plots of land for permanent church buildings.

He also designed and supported the construction of the church auditorium which is yet to be completed.