CHURCH ACCUSED

…of fueling divisions and derailing dialogue process

CITIZENS must now begin to pray for the church because it is now formenting division and redundancy in the nation, says former United Party for National Development (UPND) vice president for politics Canisius Banda. Dr Banda warned that the Church in Zambia now risked being viewed as a blackmailer as it now seemed to be holding the government, and by deduction, the people of Zambia to ransom. He was reacting to the continued insistence by the three main church mother bodies to exclude the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) from the proposed national dialogue. Dr Banda charged that the church must recognize that its existence was legislated for by the Republican Constitution and that Government was supreme to it, not vice versa. “The Church in Zambia must never at any time usurp the authority of the government of the Republic of Zambia, which it now is in danger of appearing to be doing. To go against public institutions that are themselves products of the people through their constitution is an act not only against the State but it is also veritably grossly anti-nationalistic and devoid of patriotism,” he said. Dr Banda reiterated that for the church to insist on its own political dialogue process and duplicate what was already underway was not only arrogant, costly and uninspiring church unilateralism but it was ‘foolishly obstructionist’ as well. He pointed out that the current position of the church pitted it against the very people it pursued to minister to. Dr Banda said that it puts the church at loggerheads with the very people that had allowed it to exist in the first place, saying that ZCID was created by the people, and the people created the church. “Using political party secretaries general, the agendum for the dialogue should be prepared by all. Nonetheless, that an agendum exists, that a list of what is to be discussed has been prepared, does not preclude an open conversation by all participants. “All political parties should attend the national dialogue meetings, and when in attendance, they must speak as they please, cognizant of their freedoms. That the ZCID is weak is not a valid reason to negate its important role in Zambia’s political life nor is it a sound one for sidelining it as the Church in Zambia now wants done,” he said. Dr Banda said that dialogue was not an event but a process and that there would be this dialogue and more in the future. He charged that to view national dialogue as an opportunity for displacing an incumbent Republican President from power was a bizarre, wrong and corrupt way of viewing national development issues.

Using political party secretaries general, the agendum for the dialogue should be prepared by all. Nonetheless, that an agendum exists, that a list of what is to be discussed has been prepared, does not preclude an open conversation by all participants.-Dr Banda