Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, has clarified remarks he made about incentivizing churches for developmental projects instead of imposing taxes on them, stating that his comments were made in jest.
Speaking to clergy members in the North East Region during his nationwide tour, the Vice President explained that his remarks might have been misconstrued.
Dr. Bawumia emphasized that his intention was to highlight the significant contributions of churches and faith-based organizations to the country, including the construction of schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure, suggesting that they deserve support to continue their work.
He elaborated, “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.”
This clarification comes after remarks made during a meeting with clergy members in the Bono East region on Friday, May 10.
During that meeting, Dr. Bawumia highlighted the extensive contributions of churches to society, including their role in education and healthcare, stating, “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.”
Dr. Bawumia is currently conducting a campaign tour in his home region of the North East.
