The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, says Ghana can transform its cities to reflect the beauty of heaven as portrayed in Jehovah’s Witness publications, so that citizens can have a taste of heaven right here on earth.
Mr. Ayariga made the remarks during his engagement with the management of Regimanuel Estates, one of Ghana’s leading real estate developers.
He said he was excited to honour the invitation after reading about Regimanuel’s efforts to redevelop Ghana’s urban setup to make life more enjoyable and liveable, a vision he said he is passionate about.
“I’m really excited to be here. I was going through my mails then I saw your letter. You’re asking me to visit Regimanuel because he had heard me speak around – we should redevelop our urban setup, make life more enjoyable, more livable. That has been the culture and the practice of Regimanuel,” he said.
The Minister recounted a recent trip to Dubai with a friend, which reminded him of the Jehovah’s Witness Watchtower pamphlets he used to see as a child that depicted heaven as paradise.
“I travelled to Dubai with a friend of mine… we were walking around the streets and I said to him do you remember the Jehovah’s Witness pamphlets that we used to view when we were children – Watchtower… In it you will see pictures of heaven in paradise,” he recalled.
“I looked at Dubai and I was telling him you know some people have created heaven on earth… This is the image I recall as a child that I used to see in the Watchtower pamphlets in which they painted heaven – very beautiful, very neat, well constructed, and life we are told would be peaceful and enjoyable.”
According to Mr. Ayariga, the experience in Dubai proved that it is possible to build paradise on earth, questioning why Ghana cannot do same in its communities.
“It’s possible to actually create paradise on earth. Some people have done it… So I thought how come others are able to create their paradise on earth and we can’t equally create paradise on earth in our various communities,” he stressed.
He said his ministry is committed to working with private developers like Regimanuel to transform both urban and rural settlements to make life more comfortable for Ghanaians.