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HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies
ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422
Page 1 of 7 Original Research
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Authors:
Sello E. Letswalo1
Marilyn Naidoo1
Aliaons:
1Department of Philosophy,
Praccal and Systemac
Theology, College of Human
Science, University of South
Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Corresponding author:
Marilyn Naidoo,
naidom2@unisa.ac.za
Dates:
Received: 15 Aug. 2024
Accepted: 11 Oct. 2024
Published: 11 Dec. 2024
How to cite this arcle:
Letswalo, S.E. & Naidoo, M.,
2024, ‘Understanding
ministerial accountability
in the New Pentecostal
Prophec churches’,
HTS Teologiese Studies/
Theological Studies
80(1), a10161. hps://doi.
org/10.4102/hts.v80i1.10161
Copyright:
© 2024. The Authors.
Licensee: AOSIS. This work
is licensed under the
Creave Commons
Aribuon License.
Introducon
The subject of ministerial accountability is not a core focus for prophetic Pentecostal ministers;
however, it is becoming too critical to ignore, as it shapes and reflects the leadership style and
even determines organisational growth. The goal of ministerial accountability is to promote
balance and reliable leadership within the church. Accountability as a key concept can be
understood as the requirement of accounting for one’s activities (Joannides 2012:245). Ministerial
ethics:
… is simply the manifestation of ethical behaviour in the conduct and life of a Christian leader to set a
good example through interpersonal behaviour, ethical action and living out ethical standards; that is,
walking the talk. (Kaguara 2018:13)
Leaders need to model a moral life, and ministerial accountability usually takes place through
good governance and church administration structures. God has entrusted Christians to be
accountable and manage the resources, mission and preparation for service by delivering
programmes, to fulfil the church’s tasks (Kaguara 2018:11). Conversely, Trull and Carter (2004:15)
point to the ‘lack of accountability and clear professional guidelines among pastors, as contributors
to their ethical failure’. As spiritual leaders, pastors hold a position of authority above all else and
because of their position they may forego or lack supervision in the ministry.
The New Prophetic Pentecostal Churches (NPPC) are newly established Pentecostal churches that
have experienced phenomenal growth, known as the ‘third wave’ in church growth, and have
increased in size and popularity since the 1970s and 1980s and became well-liked in Africa in the
1990s (Kroesbergen 2017:6). There are some well-known leaders who are popular in the public
domain through electronic and social media, like Shepherd Bushiri of Enlightened Christian
Gathering Church (ECG) and Paseka Motsoeneng of Incredible Happening Ministry (IHM)
(Matsobane 2023:2). These churches are usually led by a ‘prophet’ or ‘apostle’ who believes that
they use God’s power to help people in their churches who are struggling, mainly with spiritual
problems that manifest as disease, bad luck, etc. and require guidance. Their emphasis is on the
Holy Spirit being present in their work and they believe that they are guided, controlled and led
by the Holy Spirit. According to Kgatle (2020):
Within churches, congregational health and well-being require not only efficient church
leadership, but also prudent church management. Good leadership structures influence
governance and ministry tasks, and the awareness of accountability is a vital concept within
organisations. It shapes the entire managerial progression influencing values, objectives and
practices. This article reports on a study to establish the understanding of ministerial
accountability in the New Prophetic Pentecostal churches. Findings reveal a unique
understanding of leaders’ personal accountability, communal and cultural ministry practices
and public accountability towards the broader community. This article speaks to the normative
task of the Church and creates a new reflection on ministerial accountability and ethical
practices as well as implications for congregational development broadly.
Contribution: This article highlights findings on how New Prophetic Pentecostal churches
understand the concept of ministerial accountability with limited literature on the topic.
Gaining insight into the African cultural heritage and values when examining the neo-
Pentecostal perspective will enhance the understanding regarding their beliefs and principles.
Keywords: ministerial accountability; New Prophetic Pentecostal churches; church leadership;
African culture; ethical church practice; CRL.
Understanding ministerial accountability in the
New Pentecostal Prophec churches
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… the NPCs [New Prophetic Churches] are churches that have
retained the fundamental teachings of Pentecostalism like the
baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues but have
peculiar practices like one-on one prophesy, one-on-one de liv eran ce
and consultation, where members pay a certain fee, miracle
money, prophetic titles, with some prophets claiming
superiority over biblical prophets and amongst the NPCCs in
South Africa. (pp. 3–4)
These churches, in contrast to traditional Pentecostals,
employ anointing products such as spiritual candles,
anointing oils and water in addition to their prayers (Kgatle
2023:2). The usage of anointed artefacts became commonplace
in the prophetic, and as a result, the adherents have a deep
faith in these customs. The NPPC believes in their African
culture mixed with Christian beliefs which plays a huge role
in influencing their ministry practices and traditions because
they synthesise both African culture and Christianity. Some
practices of prophetic ministry are duplicates of African
Tradition Religion though they are not the same group.
Important to note here as Anderson (2013:157) states: ‘terms
like “neo-Pentecostals” and “neo-charismatics” have been
used to refer to these newer churches, but it is becoming
increasingly difficult to distinguish between the different
forms of Pentecostalism today’.
In the classical Pentecostal churches like the Full Gospel
Church, the Assemblies of God and the Apostolic Faith
Mission (AFM), these denominations have a high view of
organisational culture (Kgatle 2020:2) and have structures
such as the election of leadership; elders, deacons and various
church committees that report to a senior leadership
structure. Pastors are required to attend theological training
to learn about their role as ethical leaders, church leadership
and administration.
Within the NPPC movement, it is unclear how their ministers
are held accountable for Christian work or ministry. This
issue has become a focus since recent media reports of
happenings in NPPC churches. In 2015, pastors made
congregants eat snakes, drink petroleum and undress
publicly claiming that this was part of their worship (Kgatle
2022; Pondani 2019:24). These reports led to a social outcry
and the intervention of the CRL Human Rights Commission
to investigate practices and advocate for the regulation of
these churches (Resane 2017:1). This led to media discussions
on the commercialisation of churches (Vorster 2021:2), and
lack of solid governance structures and financial stewardship
in these churches (CRL 2017:32–33). Thinane (2021:3) alleges
that ‘abuse of power and violation of human rights by self-
styled spiritual leaders within these churches has proven the
realisation of religious freedom to be problematic’.
This article reports on a study to understand the concept
of ministerial accountability in the NPPC. Positively, it
highlights how African culture is valued in their ministry
practices, based on morality and ethical life, providing
an enhanced understanding of the contemporary African
Pentecostal.
The research project
The focus of this study was to understand the value of
ministerial accountability within the NPPC, in South Africa.
Several scholars (Banda 2020; Kgatle 2020; Ramantswana
2019:7; Resane 2017) have written about the NPPC prophetic
prayers, practices and rituals, the relationship between the
behaviour of the church and the Spirit, healing and power
but limited research exists on how they remain accountable
in Christian work.
Being accountable means making the right choices based on
personal, professional, organisational and societal rules and
beliefs (Thwala 2020). In African culture, it is believed that
you should not harm your family, a person related to you or
a stranger unless they are doing something wrong. African
culture values the spirit of Ubuntu, education on moral life is
through African proverbs that support family, leadership,
individuals, community and so forth, for example, Resane
(2023) states that:
… ‘more mogolo go betlwa wa taola, wa motho o a ipetla’, which is very
difficult to transliterate, but it means a person is responsible for
shaping his or her life. A person chooses his or her path in life.
This proverb is powerful advice for the ethics of self-responsibility.
(p. 4)
The key concept of accountability used social ethics theory;
to understand how leaders behave, and interact with others,
based on beliefs, morals and how they influence others in
their group. The theoretical framework for this study was
Kunhiyop (2008) who writes in African Christian Ethics with
the emphasis on African Christian ethics. According to
Kunhiyop (2008:13) to create a moral system that is both
African and Christian, we must first comprehend the ethical
rules and beliefs that shape how people in Africa behave
morally. Kunhiyop (2008) states:
Social ethics is about how communities decide what is right and
wrong, and it focuses on the values and relationships between
people rather than just what individuals want. In Africa, people
care more about how they treat others as a group than how they
act individually. This is because African culture values the
community over the individual. (pp. 4–5)
This was a qualitative study that used the practical
theological methodology of Osmer’s (2011:2) ‘descriptive-
empirical task’. The study was undertaken to examine the
practical conduct of elected leaders to comprehend how their
accountability manifests in their day-to-day ministerial
activities, and to ‘discern of the praxis of God in the local
faith community’ (Schoeman 2015:63), as rapidly expanding
Pentecostals.
The sample for this study comprises the emerging NPPC
with their unique brand of theology and practices.
Convenience sampling was used, participants were found
through the minister’s fraternal named Sharpening Revival
(CRC) and Limpopo Ministers Fraternal Mopani District,
which was within proximity to the researcher. The researcher
contacted possible participants who agreed to be part of the
Page 3 of 7 Original Research
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study. Ten church leaders, both male and female ‘prophets’
with a minimum of 5 years ministry experience were
interviewed. All participants had the opportunity to reflect
on their lived experience of ministry and responded to in-
depth interview questions. Ethical guidelines for research
were adhered to, and the researcher maintained objectivity
and respectful engagement as an outsider to the tradition.
The data analysis was completed through ATLAS.ti software
and codes and categories led to the development of five
major themes.
Ethical consideraons
Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained
from University of South Africa, College of Human
Sciences Research Ethics Review Committee NHREC
Registration # : Rec-240816-052, CREC Reference # : 59854006_
CREC_CHS_2022.
Findings and discussions
The themes presented are grouped in three main dimensions:
the personal, the communal and the public. Thus, themes
were grouped on the NPPC leaders’ role and understanding
of accountability, communal accountability towards church
members and finally public accountability in the community.
Leaders’ accountability
Findings revealed that the church leaders in the NPPC see
themselves as autonomous in their leadership as they are led
by the Holy Spirit in their prophetic spiritual practices. They
do not necessarily support traditional accountability and
governance structures, such as committees and a chain of
leadership as they prefer to be open to the leading of the
Holy Spirit rather than have fixed rules. Leaders operate
independently, detached from their congregations, in various
activities including decision-making. In the prophetic, the
prophet’s idea is the most important and only one (Banda
2020:5):
‘It is the Spirit of God that strengthens us to be accountable for
things in the flesh, remember we are in the season of the Holy
Spirit, after this season there is nothing else that is why we call it
the last times, we know that is the Holy Spirit that enables us.’
(Respondent leader 3, L133)
‘There is no structure or board; in prophetic ministry, we do not
follow the board because there are people in the church who join
us but do not worship God rather they are sent by the kingdom
of the darkness to come and destroy the church, they come so
that they can see the secret things which the church is doing and
afterwards they will fight against your ministry like what the
philistines have done to Samson in the Bible.’ (Respondent
leader 5, L60)
‘There is no way in the prophetic ministry that I can put the
board or people above me. The only person above me is my
spiritual father; he is the one to hold me accountable if there is
something that went wrong.’ (Respondent leader 3, L201)
The leaders understood that they can serve God
better without oppression by other leaders avoiding
any form of spiritual subjugation under the leadership and
denominational frameworks of others. According to Dube
(2020:1) several prophets in South Africa are unchallengeable;
they prefer not being managed by any religious authority.
They are not financially, religiously or ethically responsible
to any Christian group or organisation (Degbe 2014:264).
This conduct leads to conflicts and power struggles
(Matshobane & Masango 2018:3) that result in church splits
and a proliferation of churches in the movement.
In the sampled group, church leaders were not formally
trained and none is required to become a minister because
they believe that they are completely guided by the Holy
Spirit in their ministry work. In other NPPC churches, some
leaders receive the most basic instruction from unlicensed
Bible colleges (Kgatle 2022:7). Adebomi and Omotosho
(2022:4) allege that many church leaders take on their duties
without much experience or training in how to lead. Kgatle
suggests that if a prophet has a sound system, a tent and the
ability to speak in English, starting a church can be done
without any formal training (Kgatle 2022:3). Prophetic
leaders understood the biblical text of Acts 4:13 which states:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that
they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and
they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
They are suspicious of ministers who are formally trained;
however, the idea of apprenticeship is valued. Yet leaders do
feel ‘called’ to the ministry which infers a sense of
responsibility and duty and a reason to account for their
activities related to that calling.
The findings revealed that the NPPC movement places great
importance on the guidance of a Spiritual Father figure in
teaching. Spiritual Father mentorship refers to being led,
supervised, guided and taught by someone who is spiritually
mature and knowledgeable about spiritual matters. This type
of training does not differ from the training of the traditional
healers which involves rituals. However, numerous
unqualified spiritual father figures have misguided several
young ministers, highlighting the necessity of denominational
mentorship to guide emerging prophets (Pondani 2019:110).
When a group of people bow to a Spiritual Father and create
a network, they are referred to as their sons (Kgatle 2023). A
spiritual parent helps believers connect with other family-
like relationships based on faith. They create generational
links that bind believers together (Dube 2018:5). This means
that the Spiritual Father is important in bringing the
Christian family together during difficult times to
boost the family’s faith and to increase church membership
(Ramabulana 2018). However, as Kgatle states, a
shortcoming is that spiritual fathers tend to focus attention
on their financially secure offspring (Kgatle 2023). The
conclusion can be drawn that formal training does not
constitute an essential requirement for leadership in
prophetic ministry. If the spiritual father lacks theological
training, so do the sons (Pondani 2019:108).
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Pentecostal prophets consider themselves as super-spiritual
authorities and that they are uniquely anointed by God and
that they obtain spiritual status that proves that they are
closer to God than all believers (Magezi & Banda 2017:2).
This means that the leaders can do whatever they want, and
they do not like being held accountable to any person.
Thwala (2020:28) states ‘most of the time leaders of
these churches show arrogance when interrogated about
inexplicable actions committed, which changed the church
affairs in South Africa in particular’. People frequently
abuse their leadership authority in resource management
where there are no rules governing leadership accountability
(White & Pondani 2022:2).
Communal dimensions of accountability
Church leaders were asked in interviews for their
understandings of accountability towards their church
members. These leaders responded highlighting the nature
of prophet ministry which involves a communal dimension
towards accountability. They believed that it promotes the
values of respect and protection for each member of the
church not only from the leader but also from each other. It
means close friendship, sharing common cultural values, a
common faith, customs and ways of living together.
Ultimately, the leader shows them how to act and have a
common understanding towards faith and practices within
the Church. It was revealed that church members of the
prophetic usually do not ask their leaders to be responsible
for their actions because they see them as their Spiritual
Fathers and questioning the behaviour of a father as a child
can be seen as disrespectful culturally:
‘We teach good life and good behaviour in the church, and we
obey the community rules. If the community demands your
cooperation and a person is undermining them, they might
decide to chase the person out of the community.’ (Respondent
leader 2, L268)
‘To sort those who make mistakes in front of people we rebuke
them in front of people, but some make light mistakes we hold
them accountable separately and correct them but if they do not
listen then they need to step down and no longer participate in
the church.’ (Respondent leader 6, L11)
‘I am dealing with deliverance, healing, and prophecy that is
my responsibility above all I am a watchman.’ (Respondent
leader 7, L125)
‘I started to have dreams about things that are going to happen,
daily dreams about dangers that are coming, and I saw open
visions by this. I mean seeing things not completely asleep, I
began to dream about myself ministering in the congregation
and most of the time I will be prophesying.’ (Respondent
leader 5, L5)
‘I am a prophet who moves through the instructions of God like
there was a time where I was instructed to wash people’s feet but
afterwards the other pastors were not happy about what I did for
they knew that after washing people feet they become yours, but
to me, it was only a revelation from God because He wanted to
heal people and in that process, some people when they enter
their yard God will destroy all the charms around their homes
and deliverance will happen.’ (Respondent leader 10, L199)
Through prophetic rituals and practices followers receive
‘services’ to be able to deal with satanic forces and they can
live peacefully and freely. It has been perceived that some
individuals who claim to be prophets or pastors gain
supernatural powers to exert control over their church
members (Quayesi-Amakye 2015:66). However, in interviews,
church leaders shared that they are committed to helping
people, in line with the current problems facing society. It
was reported that leaders visit people at home and provide
charitable services when needed and are involved in various
ways of service as listed further in the text.
Preference to prayer ministry
In the NPPC, the prayer ministry is used in different ways;
this is uniquely done and includes fighting against spiritual
forces by engaging in warfare and being committed to prayer.
Many different types of prayers are offered, praying while
fasting, praying on a mountain, praying for deliverance,
praying all night, anointing oil prayer and anointing water
prayer. Being accountable towards members involves the
collective understanding of the methods of prayers that are
conducted considering human dignity, privacy and morality.
According to leaders, there should be no form of religious
abuse by leaders and questionable prayer methods which
might raise concerns leading to disunity.
Personalised understanding of the Holy Spirit
Personalised understanding of the Holy Spirit means that
each person has a unique way of understanding and
interpreting messages about the Holy Spirit based on their
connection with God within the spiritual levels in the
prophetic ministry. The question is how do they all come
together and find a common meaning and understanding
about how the Holy Spirit works? Will the Holy Spirit
bring them spiritually together automatically? In John
16:13, the primary focus about the Holy Spirit in this
scripture is to guide believers into all truth; it is very crucial
to understand the Holy Spirit theology. If people have
different understandings and interpretations about the
Holy Spirit, there is a need to determine who is responsible
for ensuring everyone follows the rules. The NPPC’s
leaders take charge of addressing concerns. In this case,
accountability becomes crucial to organise and control
everything, making sure that everyone is held responsible
for their actions.
Unique deliverance and healing ministry
In the NPPC, leaders consider the ministry of deliverance
and healing to be a highly effective practical tool for liberating
individuals from spiritual afflictions, physical and mental
issues that have been passed down through their families for
many years (Kgatle 2022:2). Although a believer cannot be
possessed by a demon, he can be oppressed in soul or body
unless the evil influence is broken through prayer and
deliverance (Asamoah 2016:1651). Being delivered means
being freed from spiritual suffering or attacks from demons,
while healing means getting better from a physical illness.
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The gospel is seen as a strong way to handle problems like
bad luck, curses, health issues and magic (Kgatle 2023).
Predicons over dreams and visions
In this tradition, dreams and visions are considered
meaningful for foreseeing what will happen to people now
and in the future. They are special and important in
Christians’ lives in the prophetic ministry, so it is important
to figure out what they mean. The meaning can change
depending on the situation, and they can be connected to
worries or problems if people are unsure, scared, confused or
dealing with a problematic situation. In this regard, it is also
believed that ‘many dreams are prophetic’ (Goodman
2006:13). It is recorded in the Bible that Joseph used to dream,
and his brothers hated him and when they saw him, they
said, ‘Here comes the dreamer’ in Gen. 32:19. This means that
people connect their dreams to what will happen in their
future, believing that dreams can predict future events and
cannot be disregarded. It is also written in the Bible that in a
dream or vision during the night, when people are in deep
sleep or dozing off in bed, God opens their ears and gives
them important teachings found in Job 33:15–16.
In summary, accountability in a communal setting reveals
that strong leadership is an important value for everyone,
respecting each other in the relationships between leaders
and their followers. It is the leadership style that focuses on
the interest of other people in a communal setting and is not
self-centred leadership, while in this tradition, church
members have little to say about leadership, finances and
decision making and unusual suspicious practices.
Community accountability
Church leaders were asked for their understandings of
accountability towards the broader community. It was
interesting to note that they related many unsavoury incidents
and perceived ‘attacks towards them’ from the community:
‘I think I have so many cases but one of them happened
yesterday, I was in court where they said our church is making
noise and our church is making people fight for no reason I had
to stand there and show the skill of leadership and by the answer
because some community members said no, this is stories, it
never happens.’ (Respondent leader 1, L121)
‘This is what happened in 2020 I had to account for a case of
allegations of rape and I was married, I went to prison for a day
and the following day I was released because you see when God
calls you, he also defend you and nobody will defeat the truth.
The truth will always be the truth and God’s justice prevail.’
(Respondent leader 9, L209)
This highlights that the NPPC’s understanding of doctrine
and cultural privileges towards the community allows them
to act in particular ways that may be perceived as unethical,
abusive and criminal if there is no individual to account to.
In interviews, church leaders recounted ministry experiences
requiring them to show up in court, whether it was a
community court or a legal one. Bushiri’s supporters in
Pretoria mocked court proceedings, portraying them as a
struggle with God. Kgatle (2020:4) alleges that the NPPC
disregards the rule of law; for example, prophet Shepherd
Bushiri and his wife escaped the trial because they fled
South Africa. Other behavioural traits of the so-called toxic
leadership include deliberately deceiving followers with
falsehoods and inefficiencies because of misdiagnosing
problems and not implementing solutions to identify
problems (Burns 2017:40).
Neo-prophetic groupings are being scrutinised in their
communities because of poor management (White &
Pondani 2022). The leader’s unique ways of leadership are
alleged to be provocative. This impacts society, resulting in
legal actions against leaders for criminal behaviour that
cannot be linked with cultural influence. Mokhoathi and
Rembe (2017:8) call on religious organisations to be a good
example to society, including law enforcement and other
civil agencies. Churches are not using their freedom to
practice their religion while also considering their legal,
ethical and community duties (CRL Rights Commission
2017:34).
Implicaons for pastoral pracce
This study alerts one to the importance of accountability in
Christian ministry and the responsibility towards church
members and the broader community. A strong and mature
leadership group that can hold leaders accountable when
necessary is one of the ways that a functioning organisation
can measure its capacity to lead effectively. Questions may be
asked of the moral conduct of leaders. The CRL Rights
Commission in South Africa reported on church practices in
this tradition which they felt were problematic. These include
not being able to run and manage churches well,
using churches to make money illegally, making illegal
advertisements, taking advantage of poor people by asking
them for money or gifts, preachers pretending to be doctors
and discussing people’s health and moving money in and
out of the country disregarding financial regulations (CRL
Report 2017:2, 32–33). As the prophetic practices are claimed
to be influenced by the Holy Spirit it means practices should
be aligned with the attribute of God and not cause harm, and
if not aligned to this, then practices remain in doubt and may
be questioned. Banda (2021:9) argues ‘Instead of thriving on
unusual dramatic religious experientialism, NPPC should be
challenged to realise that sound religious faith is ethical’.
It would be worthwhile for the NPPC traditions to be part of
an educational and religious training affiliation and to be
part of the Christian fraternity with other religious bodies for
spiritual learning, support, accountability and fellowship in
the African Pentecostals movement. In this way, churches are
prepared for fruitful ministry in response to the public’s
existing needs. As a resolution, Pollitt (2015) recommends
that:
Bodies like the SACC or the Interfaith Council should speak out
about the importance of theological training. University faculties
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of theology should be encouraged to engage with the public on
these matters. Mainstream churches (and religious bodies) need
to be more aggressive in their condemnation of the lunacy. Some
churches already insist on lengthy study and preparation for the
ministry and do try to regulate those they ordain. These include
criminal background checks on prospective clergy, psychological
evaluations, and intense pastoral preparation. (p. 1)
Conclusion
This study highlighted the unique way in which the NPPC
understands ministerial accountability and discovered
various understandings around personal leadership, within
the congregation and the broader community. It reveals
unique understandings and leadership challenges which
have broadly questioned the credibility and accountability
within the NPPC. Gaining insight into the African cultural
heritage and values when examining the neo-Pentecostal
perspective will enhance understanding regarding their
beliefs and principles; thus, more research is needed in this
regard. This study speaks to the normative task of the
Church and creates a new reflection on ministerial
accountability and ethical practices as well as implications
for congregational development broadly.
Acknowledgements
Compeng interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal
relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced
them in writing this article.
Authors’ contribuons
S.E.L. conceptualised and conducted the study investigation,
analysis and write-up. M.N. supervised the study and
reviewed and edited the article.
Funding informaon
This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data availability
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data
were created or analysed in this study.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of
the author(s) and are the product of professional research. It
does not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of
any affiliated institution, funder, agency or that of the
publisher. The author(s) are responsible for this article’s
results, findings and content.
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