<<Print>>

The mystery sponsor of the controversial Israel pilgrimage has been revealed by the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey told XYZ News at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday March 19, 2013 after a group of Clergy had met the President that: �I got the impressions that one of us, one of our ministers is championing that so I will talk to him�. He however remained silent on the name of the Clergy man who is sponsoring the trip. However, XYZ News can confirm that the sponsor of the trip is a very well known and renowned Charismatic Church Leader who commands the followership of thousands of members at a grand Charismatic Church in the capital Accra. Rev Prof Martey�s revelation and hint of the mystery sponsor follows numerous calls by civil society groups and individuals for the identity of the sponsor to be made public. Among those who have been demanding transparency over the trip include anti-graft body Ghana Integrity Initiative, The Executive Officer of the Salt and Light Ministries and former Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Joyce Aryee; members of the opposition New Patriotic Party including Ablekuma West MP Ursula Owusu amongst others. Scores of Pastors, numbering almost 100, including Rev Prof Martey, thronged the Flagstaff on Tuesday to meet the President to discuss preparations towards the annual prayer and thanksgiving service scheduled for April 7, 2013. The President used the opportunity to clarify the controversy surrounding the Israel pilgrimage which has become a highly topical issue on local media. Among the Clergy who went to the Flagstaff House were the Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Christian Action Faith Ministries, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams; Bishop James K. Saah, Resident Pastor of The Prayer Cathedral; Presiding Bishop of Lighthouse Chapel International Dag Heward-Mills; Apostle Dr. Opoku Onyinah, Chairman of The Church of Pentecost; Senior Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church Rev Dr Fred Deegbe amongst a whole raft of others. Organisations represented at the meeting included the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches, Women's Aglow International, Council for African Indigenous Churches, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council and the Council of Independent Churches. Private Newspaper Daily Guide had earlier published that US$2m of State funds were being sunk into the trip. Before the President�s intervention, Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah had clarified through a press statement that the entire cost of the trip was estimated at US$600,000. The President explained that: �Government is only playing a facilitating role in the pilgrimage issue and not sponsoring anybody as has been put out there�. "It is a private sector organisation that says it will be able to sponsor it. The government is only playing a facilitating role," he said. President Mahama said the government was ready to cancel the trip if the Clergy desired so. "If we should abandon it, we can tell the private sponsor that you do not want to participate or if you want to deal with the private sponsor directly", he said.