By KELVIN MUDENDA –

THE Livingstone City Council has started charging churches K300 for holding overnight prayer meetings and crusades, a move which has not been received well by churches.
According to a notice signed by acting Livingstone Town Clerk Gertrude Chibiliti, a special council meeting minute number SC/448/17 approved the introduction of a charge towards special gatherings at a fee of K300.
Livingstone City Council public relations manager Melvin Mukela said it was the responsibility of the council to charge the public for all functions that took place in the district, saying churches were not excluded in the exercise.
Mr Mukela said the K300 was meant to help the council monitor the gatherings and buy stationary for the permits.
“This council is not targeting any person or church but it is the policy of the council to charge any person or grouping that assembles at any particular place to promote a particular cause,” Mr Mukela said.
“When there is a gathering, a lot of things happen; so our officers will have to monitor the place and that money is used to buy fuel for the officers and stationary to process the documents for them to hold such functions.”
He called on the church not to cry foul as the decision to come up with the figure was made in consultation with all the 17 councillors.
But the move by the council has angered churches in Livingstone, who say the law only requires them to notify the police to hold such gatherings.
Worship Expressions Assembly pastor-in-charge Michael Zulu said the move by the council was a misplaced initiative.
Reverend Zulu said the council was working against Government policy of clearly positioning itself as a Christian Nation.
“This is a Christian Nation and issues to do with prayer and propagation of the gospel should be encouraged and not hampered by a cost involved in doing so. With the coming in of the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, the Government is positioning itself as a Christian Nation,” Rev Zulu said.
“And so when the council begins to charge churches for functions like overnight prayers and crusades then they are not supporting the Government.”
Christian Harvest Church International overseer Boston Simumba said the move was bad one and not in the spirit of Christian ethics.
“It is not right to be charging the church, it is unChristian and since it is a by-law, it should be reversed. It is clear that the councillors who voted for the idea are not Christians,” he said.