ZAMBIA: Caritas Zambia Support Bishops on Inclusive Consultation on Constitutional Matters
Mwenya Mukuka
| Eugene Kabilika,Caritas Zambia Executive Director |
Caritas Zambia has supported the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) in their call for withdrawal of the controversial Bill No. 10 of 2019 which seeks to amend Zambia’s 2016 Constitution.
This is according to a statement signed by Caritas Zambia Executive Director Eugene Kabilika on behalf of all Caritas Zambia Diocesan Directors.
“We agree with the Bishops on the need for inclusive consultations on matters concerning the amendment of Zambia’s 2016 Constitution. When bishops analyze political events, they do so in the light of the Word of God and the Social Teaching of the Church. Bill No. 10 falls short of promoting some of the key principles of the Social Teaching of the Church,” reads the statement.
“While constitution making process is a common good for Zambians, the government refused to amend the National Dialogue Forum Bill (NDF), which would have set the tone for national unity and healing. Even the Parliamentary Committee on legal affairs, human rights, national guidance, gender and governance recommended that the NDF bill be withdrawn. Nevertheless, the recommendation was rejected and the NDF Bill was passed into law,” the statement adds.
According to the statement, Caritas Zambia Directors are also aware that according to parliamentary Standing Orders, Bill 10 lapsed on 4th June 2020.
Caritas Zambia has since repeated the call made by ZCCB on 9th June 2020 that Bill 10, should be withdrawn.
“We call upon government to listen to the voice of reason. Amendments to the Constitution of Zambia should be based on widest consultation and consensus building. The NDF consultative process was not adequate, resulting in lack of consensus among key players. That is now very apparent with Bill 10,” the statement read.
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
| Members of Inter-Faith Council addressing the Press |
Following the Inter-Faith Council that was constituted by the government of Kenya in mid-June and mandated to develop directives on reopening of places of worship which have been closed since March 2020 as a preventive measure to curb the spread of Covid-19, faith leaders have called for adherence to guidelines which are in tandem with the latest Ministry of Health measures for public health.
“As we progress and prepare our communities for phased reopening, we wish to reiterate one cardinal principle: the safe reopening of the places of worship will depend entirely on our compliance to the current Ministry of Health guidelines and those that the Inter-faith Council will present,” reads in part the Faith-leaders statement signed by the Chairperson of the Council Archbishop Anthony Muheria.
“We urge all our members and congregants to fully embrace the new normal to prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus. This will make it much easier and accelerate the safe reopening of congregational worship,” They noted.
The Inter-Faith Council that was inaugurated Wednesday, June 17, embarked on strategizing for gradual resumption of worship as they received input from religious communities “that will inform the development of the guidelines that are tasked to the council.”
According to the Council comprising of 16 members from various Faith institutions, they are up for the task to fulfil their mandate saying in their statement, “As men and women of faith, we are committed to do what is within our capacity to ensure that proper guidelines and protocols are put in place to ensure the safety of our congregants as the phased opening of worship places are put in places and the celebration of weddings, funerals and other religious ceremonies.”
“As faith leaders, we are keen to listen to the voice of God, the wisdom of science and to the voices of our faithful in addressing this mandate that has been tasked to us,” they added in their press statement issued Saturday, June 27.
The Faith leaders acknowledged receipt of “other presentations by various religious groups and interested persons,” and has urged the “patience” of Kenyans as they conclude the initial development of indicative guidelines.
The Council intends to conduct 10 regional meetings for validation to “ensure the eventual guidelines are in tandem with faith traditions and the input received.”
The members of the Council have appreciated the President for mandating them to serve the nation and for the step the government has taken to for the phased reopening of worship places.