Nationwide Training On Modern Trends In Infrastructural Development Ends

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The National Estate Committee of The Church of Pentecost, in collaboration with the Information Management Department, has organised a Nationwide Training on Modern Trends in Infrastructural Development.

The event was organised at two centres – Pentecost Convention Centre, Brofoyedru in Kumasi and Pentecost Convention Centre, Gomoa-Fetteh, respectively.

The Northern zone training which took place at PCC-Brofoyedru from 29th September to 2nd October, 2019, was attended by Areas from the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the five Northern Regions, while the Southern zone which comprised Areas in the Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Eastern and Western regions, was held from 2nd to 5th October at PCC, Gomoah-Fetteh. The participants were Area Project Officers and Members of Area Estate Committee.

Facilitators for the seminar were Apostle Samuel Otu Appiah (National Estate Committee Chairman and Area Head for Winneba), Pastor Dr Nicholas Darko (Finance and Administration Director), Pastor Osei Abunyewa (IT Manager) and his team, Pastor James Agyin (Projects, Development and Estate Manager), Pastor Dr Joseph Ignatius Buertey (Asokwa PIWC Resident Minister) Pastor Kofi Antwi Boasiako (Asuoyeboa District Minister), Elder Dr Daniel Obeng Atuah (Member of the National Estate Committee and Chairman of the Pentecost Professionals Guild for the Built Environment) and Elder Dr Kwadwo Kyeremeh.

Apostle Samuel Otu Appiah, in an exhortation from Colossians 4: 17 and 2 Timothy 4:9-11 on the theme, “See To It That You Fulfill Your Ministry,” explained that Apostle Paul in Colossians 4:7 described Tychicus as a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord and Onesimus as a faithful and dear brother.

According to him, God sees all the things believers do for Him, and one day He will express His opinion on their ministry just as Paul did to Tychicus and Onesimus. He, however, said that Archippus was sent a “wake-up call” to see to it that he fulfils the ministry which he received in the Lord.

“We, like Archippus, must see to it that we fulfil our ministry as Estate Committee agents in our respective Areas and not to be like Demas in 2 Timothy 4: 9, who abandoned his ministry for worldliness.

“A day is coming where all our activities in the Lord will be played back to us in ‘slow-motion’ as it’s done in football to expose secret misdeeds that escaped the eyes of the referee and linesmen. As we seek to possess nations, we should be mindful of the fact that we have a master in heaven with bigger eyes that sees the decisions we make and the motive behind these choices,” he stressed.

In his presentation on funding the Church’s infrastructure projects, Pastor Dr Nicholas Darko mentioned that The Church of Pentecost runs a centralized financial system and, therefore, all members contribute to the Church’s central pool for equity disbursement of funds in support of projects. Disbursements are then made by way of grants, CBCB and UACB allocations, among others.

He stressed that the Church’s leadership ensures stringent financial discipline in the management of church funds. Local assemblies, districts and Areas are by extension required to expend grants released for projects judiciously for their intended purposes, he added.

Pastor Dr Joseph Ignatius Buertey, the immediate past Estate Manager, made a detailed presentation on Audit, Monitoring and Evaluation of projects and shared his experiences and observations on audit findings with the participants.

Pastor James Agyin, the Estate Manager, in his presentation on the roles and responsibilities of project officers, adviced them to make themselves indispensable in their respective Areas through prudent monitoring and supervision initiatives that would ensure that buildings are constructed in accordance to recommended technical specifications to avoid structural failures.

He advised them to coordinate results for their respective Areas by consulting and engaging experts from other fields where they may be lacking expertise.

Pastor Osei Abunyewa, the IT Manager, downloaded the Geographic Information Systems application for all participants and trained them on data collection and uploading to enable them to give periodic updates to the headquarters on projects and assemblies opened after the September 2017 nationwide mapping exercise.

Elder Dr Daniel Obeng Atuah, in his presentation on effective supervision of church projects, expressed concern about how projects are poorly constructed with huge sums of money from the headquarters just for them to collapse due to structural incompetence.

He mentioned that in supervising church projects, Estate Officers and committee members must be conscious of the quality, cost and time equilibrium to ensure that the church gets value for money as projects are completed within a reasonable time frame.

Pastor Antwi Boasiako, a former Estate Manager, made a presentation on the need for pre-contract and post-contract planning to ensure that all stakeholders are brought on board for planning so that projects are not initiated and abandoned later for fund starvation.

Elder Dr K. Kyeremeh, on his part, expressed worry over how structures are left to deteriorate after dedication due to lack of proper maintenance culture. He re-iterated that infrastructure and equipment must be properly maintained to serve the core business needs of the church and to allow structures to survive their expected lifespan.

The participants called for the need for a maintenance manual for the Church to ensure that the huge sums of money that the Church invests into projects do not go waste. The training offered participants the opportunity to network.

Report by Pastor Daniel Donkor Larbi.

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