By KETRA KALUNGA
WITH the scraping of Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, President Hakainde Hichilema’s call for zero tolerance to corruption will not be realised easily, the Independance Churches of Zambia (ICOZ) has said.
The Evangelical Youth Alliance (EYA) says the removal of the ministry was the worst move the UPND regime has done.
ICOZ President, David Masupa, said constant inculcation of moral values in people was cardinal in fostering change of behaviour in people, including government officials.
He said such a responsibility could best be supported by Government through the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs.
Bishop Masupa said in an interview that the ministry propagated the actualisation of Christian values in the country.
“We know that the ministry may be regarded irrelevant by the new government but it’s not. For the country to achieve zero tolerance to corruption, there has to be some inculcation of moral values in people,” he said.
EYA President, Reverend Moses Lungu said instead of scrapping the ministry, the government should have maintained it and ensured that it remained relevant to the current needs of the people.
Rev Lungu said in an interview that the government should have strengthened the role of the ministry in upholding the moral uprightness to overcome corruption.
“This is the worst mistake, God is not happy, it’s an insult to God, you cannot be talking about green economy and ignore its owner,” he said.
However, MMD President Nevers Mumba, who is a pastor said leaving out the ministry does not offend Zambians because it was abused by the Patriotic Front regime.
Dr. Mumba said instead of raising the voice of the church, the ministry embraced the church through its silence when people were mistreated.
He said to this effect, the ministry did a lot of dis-service due to its lack of clarity to the mission which made it more disliked by the people.
“When people were mistreated, injustice thrown all over the country, the ministry remained silent, leaving it out doesn’t offend Zambians,” Dr. Mumba said.
