Rev. Bismark Akandi, a Pastor of the Presbyterian Church and a professional Auditor says leadership is a calling that requires that one should be a steward who hold accountability in high esteem.
As a result of that, leaders are expected to plan, execute the plan and account for all resources for the growth of the group and to the benefit of members, he said at a leadership training for 200 Accra Archdiocesan and Parish Executives of the Christian Mothers’ Association.
The day’s training held at the Christ the King Parish on Saturday, March 4, 2023 was attended by newly elected Archdiocesan Executives, Presidents and Secretaries of each Parish from the eight Deaneries of the Accra Archdiocese – Kpehe, Osu, Madina, Tema, Ashaiman, Mamprobi, Battor, and Kaneshie.
In attendance were representatives of Christian Fathers, Son and Daughters Associations.
Addressing the Christian Mothers, Rev. Akandi said “Considering the objectives of the group or organisation, leaders are expected to select activities to be carried out during the year. The activities are prioritized and ranked in order of importance.”
Touching on budgeting, he quoted from Luke 14:28-30 which states “For of which of you, intending to build a house, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish?”
He urged the CMA leaders to endeavour to identify resources (human and material) that would be needed to carry out each activity while the total cost of resources required for each activity must be ascertained.
“The costs of the resources for all activities are put together to get the annual budget for the group, he added, saying, “A budget therefore forces leaders to set achievable goals (where you need to go), save money, track progress and ensure the achievement of the goals.”
Rev. Akandi educated the CMA leaders to always ensure they identified the sources of funds of the group and how much revenue was likely to be received from those sources.
“As funds are received from the various sources, leadership is required to properly receipt the funds and keep proper records for accountability,” he stated, adding, “Leadership should use the budget to monitor the receipts and quarterly assess if the group will achieve the target.”
He advised the CMA leaders to ensure funds are released for activities that have been budgeted for, saying, “If the need arises to implement an activity outside the budget, leadership should re-consider which activity should be dropped to take care of the new one.”
“The cost of the new activity should be the same as the one to be dropped or else it will call for revision of the entire budget,” he advised, adding, “Disbursement of funds for activity implementation should be properly documented for accountability.”
According to the Presbyterian Pastor, “Periodically, leaders are expected to account for the resources received and disbursed and they can therefore prepare quarterly reports on revenue and expenditure.”
This, he averred, would enable them to account to the people during meetings or as and when required.
The Christian Mothers Association is a well organized, well managed, self-sustaining women group able to continuously support the spiritual, social, economic and political empowerment of women.
It is non-governmental, non-profit making Organization committed to the empowerment of poverty reduction and enhancements of dynamic Christian values.
It provides civic, health, formal, and non-formal education and teaching of social and moral values.
As an Association Certified as Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), it promotes dynamic Christian values among family members, and continuously support the spiritual, social, economic and political empowerment of women.
