Churches Call for Concerted Fight Against Corruption

The Church must be involved at all stages of the electoral process to fight possible incidents of corruption.

This is contained in a joint communiqué issued by workshop participants drawn from the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and various independent churches in Lusaka.

"The Church must be involved in the electoral process as early as the instance of registration of voters right up to the post-election period in order to check and fight possible incidents of corruption at all levels," the communiqué reads in part. It was noted that the incidence of corruption at all levels of society was very high, with the political and social will to fight against corruption lacking.

"The Church has a unique mandate to emphasise on the evils of corruption," the communiqué adds. It was further noted that while efforts had been made to stamp out the vice, closer collaboration with institutions like the ACC had been minimal. The need to help the ACC build up their human and financial resource was also recognised.

The ACC was also encouraged too be seen to be working for the people at all levels and not against them.

The ACC was urged to translate their programmes to incorporate all levels of society buy availing literature in local languages and creating anti-corruption community based programmes.

The two-day workshop ran under the theme "the role of the church in the prevention of corruption" organised in conjunction with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Christian Information Network. And Pastor Hastings Mzumara of Christ Impact Ministries said the scandals surfacing showed there was no accountability in government. Pastor Mzumara said there was a lack of sincerity by politicians and this was doing damage to all sectors of the economy.

He urged President Frederick Chiluba to immediately dismiss those implicated in scandals and replace them with responsible and competent people. "If he does not appoint responsible people, it will show he too is not responsible," said Pastor Mzumara.