By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Church has offered to mediate in the current wrangles in various political parties to help maintain peace in Zambia.
Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has urged political parties engulfed in misunderstandings, including the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), to embrace the principle of unity of purpose as the country prepares for the presidential election on January 20, next year.
In a joint statement issued yesterday after a CCZ-member churches’ meeting in Lusaka, the Church leaders expressed worry with the political instability, misunderstandings and reported violence in some political parties.
“CCZ is very disturbed and worried by the political instability, misunderstandings and reported violence in some political parties,” the statement read.
The Council singled out the ruling PF, MMD and UNIP as political parties exhibiting infighting that has potential to cause instability in the country if left unchecked.
“The Church is ready to play the role of mediator when called upon by any political party to resolve differences and we will continue to pray that unity shall prevail amongst all political players for the sake of our country moving forward,” CCZ said.
The Church leaders noted that the intraparty differences could be resolved amicably via observation of political party constitutions as conflict had intensified and was escalating to dangerous proportions.
“This is affecting all Zambians and would-be investors. It is creating a very unhealthy transition process towards electing a new President for our nation and the behaviour of some political leaders does not give Zambians confidence that they qualify to be national leaders,’’ It said.
CCZ urged the PF, as a party in power to take greater responsibility in ensuring peace and security in the nation by concentrating on its mandate to lead the country through the transition period, to the election day.
The Church is committed to ensuring that the process of ushering in the country’s new leader is done in accordance with the laws that govern the country as a democratic state.
It is for this reason that the three church mother bodies and other faith based organisations namely CCZ, the Evangelical Fellowship in Zambia (EFZ), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Caritas Zambia and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) have formed a coalition called the Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG), to ensure transparency, accountability and credibility of the election process.