By Fox Correspondent
THE Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has been meeting this week and it is understood that the Conference has prepared a strong and stinging Pastoral Letter.
The pastoral letter has included issues affecting the people such as load-sheding, impending by-elections, cost of living crisis, hunger affecting over 6.8 million people and other pertinent issues.
However, State House has quickly maneuvered to undermine the Pastoral Letter by seeking to meet Bishops in a pre-emptive manner in order to moderate the concerns raised by the Conference and in attempt to force them to issue a lukewarm pastoral letter.
Further, President Hakainde Hichilema wrote an apology for incidences where the Police stormed a meeting where former President Edgar Lungu was paying a courtesy call on Bishop Clement Mulenga of Kabwe Diocese.
The Police also stormed a church meeting in Ndola where United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) leaders were scheduled to attend. The police also roughed up and arrested an old parishioner who was taking pictures.
The police have also denied political parties and citizens from holding public meetings, processions, demonstrations, and rallies.
Further, there has been an out-standing issue where UPND Secretary General, Batuke Imenda labeled Archbishop Alick Banda as Lucifer of Zambia.
All the Bishops have felt strongly that these are public and public interest matters and can not be dealt with in in private and confidential letters as done by President Hichilema.
Today, all the Bishops have gone to Hichilema’s pre-emptive meeting at State House except for Archbishop Banda.
Hichilema insisted that the meeting with the Bishops at State House will be off-camera and the details will be held under a secret and confidential banner and the outcome will not be published.
It is understood that Archbishop Banda has stayed away from the meeting at State House.
The Bishops are also headed to Malawi to a sub-regional meeting to discuss the matters affecting the peoole of the region.
The subregional consultative meeting of the Catholic Bishops of Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe will take place in Salima, Malawi, from 15 July to 19 July 2024.
This significant gathering aims to address various pressing challenges within the three countries, including inequality and environmental concerns.
that keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive workshops would be integral parts of the meeting, designed to address the theme “Building Bridges: Strengthening Faith, Unity, and Service.”
ECL remains my President even in death,,,
Why are you so negative?
Civilisation is about understanding each other. Civilisation is about dialogue. No matter the differences if people or groups reach a stage of dialogue then development is guaranteed. In any a society big or small people may differ in policies, opinions etc but that does not takeaway the spirit of dialogue. Reconciliation is the medicine to peace and development. You can’t be bitter for the rest of your life. I recommend President HH and those Bishops who took the opportunity to discuss and start healing. Discussions can be public or private I respect that, true leaders accommodate each other.
It seems to me that the other bishops ignored Archbishop Alick Banda’s plea not to attend the State House meeting with HH. When it became clear that the others were ready to meet HH without him, Archbishop Alick Banda anonymously spoke to journalists at The Mast newspaper. In the lead story the newspaper published before the meeting, the un-named source blames Catholic clergymen from Southern, Western and North-Western provinces for the church’s failure to publish any pastoral letter on the state of the nation. Archbishop Banda is clearly a very bad man, a bad Christian and a bad clergyman.
Great stuff ba CM agreed 100%! We need people like you to educate some people who are bent on dividing the nation on tribal lines.
HHhH.
Thats his opinion.
I sure we are many who don’t miss him.
He is too divisive…..
One has to wonder why the Bishops even will say on some of the issues.
1. Hunger – we have read everyday that donor community has lent, donated monies or suport to alviate the effects of draught and hunger.
Do they (the Catholic church) want to have a hand in the distribution of the funds/food? If so is not just a ploy to have a hand in the messaging or line their pockets. Dont they have an agency that deals with Aid distribution that is probably working with the various aid agencies and the Disaster Management under the VPs office (if they so seek to be involved) olo ni dyamo chabe?
2. Bye elections. – PF created the problem themselves. The failure to have elections after the 2021 elections to usher in fresh mandate and when Miles Sampa had his own. Shows failures in PF and a failure to uphold democratic tenants. They now try to deflect the issue and blame a decision made in the legislature on the executive? The outbursts are illogical and on record. Then realise the appropriate route was the judicary. And the courts as at yesterday had taken the appropriate decision. Instead what do we hear ECL say? Was that the kind of outburst one would expect from a mature rational person, more so a said experienced lawyer? PF needs to get their house in order.
3. Cost of Living – inflation the general rise in prices is a Global Post Covid issue that grip the world and Zambia is no exception. In Zambia like most countries that over exposed themselves to loans and debt (Nigeria, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Kenya) face an even tougher plight to deal with the debt issue by taking austerity measures. We saw in the past week the measures that the Kenyan government took to raise money to ensure they met their debt obligations. Instead of cutting back. They raised taxes, in contrast Zambia and Nigeria cut back on issues like fuel subsidy. A cost that a section of society that could afford enjoyed.
4. Load Shedding – Here I have to confess my personal veiw is draconian. We understand that the approach by government is strategic..long term. And addressing a structural background to isssue. But they have not addressed the shorterm. From the draught funding. A component would have been used to pay for more imported power. We understand that Zesco is debt ridden. As such to pay that debt obligation they have to export power. Great!. The local demand for power exceeds supply. The climate factor has also affected Zambians attempt to self provide in the power sector. The solar aspect is only viable if the sun is there and the President was right when he said lets develop and feed the grid. But the development cycle of such a farm like most ventures is not immediate. And do those who can invest do not have all the resources, land for example. And will face bottlenecks before they can set up. The most immediate is import. To cover us until the rains set in. The damage on the economy maybe great. As we have seen this past week when communication has been affected by loadshedding. If big business is being affect. What toll is being faced by the small guy?
To me this meeting by the Bishops lacks basis and all they will say to each other is the obivious. Something we all know. And what is ironic is that the chief instigator without a cause will be absent. The Catholic Church should seriously realise that the rate at which Bishop Banda is going to cause unrest in Zambia is dangerous. And they will have blood on their hands. He has no cause he is raising other than personal prejudice against the current regime. And that is not the role of the Church. Preach the gosple.
Determined not to let the team down! Typical!!!!
Alick Banda is a Lucifer don’t ever bring him closer to statehouse. He doesn’t mean well for the nation.
A typical Batuke Imenda clone! As usual,hate speech protection is for protecting Zambezi provincials only! There is UPND Zambia for you!!!
Alick Banda has once again confirmed by staying away that he is not genuinely interested in the affairs of the nation but cannot be seen to be warming up to HH as he is a known PF cadre.
This man does not care what happens in Zambia when we start fighting among ourselves.
Is it right for a clergy man to refuse to reconcile when the Bible encourages that?
What example is he giving to the young and upcoming?
It appears that HH is his hate project! Can someone write to the pope to have his head examined?
I never heard him condemn the gassing,
Murders, ritual killings, the harrassment of HH while in opposition, the tribal talk and segregation against certain tribes, the plunder of government resources by PF, e.t.c.
So, who is this man? Does he stand for justice and peace?
Is he Zambian? Just on whose behalf is he fighting and covering the tracks for? Is he related to one of those plunderers?
Let him not make all Catholic Priests look bad. There might be a need to interrogate his motive. Is it a fight for ‘preferred’ tribes to be the ones to rule?
Surely an individual’s or indeed a few individuals’ desires can not be allowed to put the country on Fire!
The Catholic Church should not be used as a cover for tribal clashes for the leadership of this country just because the Majority priests and worshipers come from their presidential and national leadership aspirants.
What is very clear is that certain catholic priests have aligned themselves with certain individuals on tribal lines and are acting like the bleach to remove the stained political clothe they are donning. State
Security needs to be on the lookout for these desperate wolves in sheep’s clothing.
May God arise and tame the ugly monster in them!
Who doesn’t know where Archbishop Banda’s loyalties lie? He has been very explicit in his support for Mr. Lungu and benefited handsomely from his misrule.
It good that the Pope established the new archdiocese of Ndola.
Thank you Arch Bishop Alick Banda for staying away from sinking Hakainde’s Mingalatos. Since when did we start having Top Secret Dialogues between the state and the church? How will the Bishops communicate what they discussed with their priests and the general congregation if the meeting was top secret?
If he means well with his apologies to the church, why should this be Top Secret? This is unbiblical.
Government is not a secret society. Those Bishops are responsible for churches and Pastoral letters are a way of communicating with members on various issues affecting the church members and the nation at large. To give spiritual guidance in times of hardships…and to strengthen the faith of the body of Christ..Now Hakainde wants to stop the mission of the shepherds of the church..
The man has suppressed everyone in the country…NGOs and Civil society can’t speak.The state media is in his pocket. The arms of government can’t operate independently. Institutions such as ECZ have become an extension of UPND. He is on a mission to dismember all opposition parties through his useless Mingalatos. Now he wants to gag our remaining bastion of hope – the Catholic Church.
Let him know that he will fail..He can buy those tuma papa school class room churches…but not the Catholic Church.
It is sad that young people are not able to discern where the devil finds fertile ground.
Money, indeed, is the root of evil.
It’s true you are hallucinating. The lies you are propagating are are shocking.
We never heard of your voice when there was looting, people were being gassed, cadres were burning money and showing off .
Remember the time when Sata brought a system for members of Parliament to ask for a Police permit to visit their constituency? Were opposition parties allowed to have meetings without being harassed by violent cadres?
Be truthful to yourself. HH means well for this nation. Despite the long detention he underwent, he has allowed ECL to move around holding meetings with the Catholic priests and you wonder what they are discussing.
The Bibles tells us to be peacemakers ( Mathew 5) is Arch Banda practising what the Bible says? Are you doing so yourself ? Please stop hallucinating.