By CHUSA SICHONE –

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu is happy that the Church has heeded his call to participate in the country’s politics, a development he said would help to stimulate economic transformation based on Christian principles.
President Lungu said that the delivery of Zambia’s political and economic programmes would be difficult to achieve if the Church was not involved in the country’s governance and development.
President Lungu said this when he officiated at the ‘Christians for Lungu Mobilisation Conference’ at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka yesterday.
This was in apparent reference to his November 2, 2015 appeal to the Church to get involved in politics.
“I am grateful that following the invitation, a dedicated constituency of Zambians across denominational divide and of diverse professional as well as academic competencies have taken up the challenge to actively participate in politics,” he said.
President Lungu warned that Zambia’s political and economic responsibilities would be difficult to attain if Christians continued taking the back seat.
He said he had on several occasions appealed to Christians to join politics for them to help in bringing love and unity in the political arena.
“The role played by the Church in promoting peace, love and unity can never be underestimated. This is demonstrated in many ways, but recently it’s the talks we held under the supervision of the Church at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
“We know for a fact that the power that the Body of Christ has over the governance of us is immense and we want to tap into this power in the governance of the nation. Brothers and sisters in Christ, it cannot be business as usual for believers,” he said.
President Lungu pledged his unwavering support to the ‘Christians for Lungu’ for its potential to contribute to Zambia’s political and economic landscape, and urged the grouping to work with the Patriotic Front (PF) structures countrywide.
Meanwhile, Mr Lungu said first Republican president Kenneth Kaunda belonged to all Zambians who championed the ‘One Zambia One Nation’ slogan and thus should not be dragged into partisan politics.
“The last one, two, three days I have found it difficult to mention the name (Dr Kaunda) because people think I am politicising the old man.
“He is too Zambian to be trivialised and brought into the political campaigns which we are embarking upon.
“He is a national property who belongs to all of us, including those people who have been disparaging my visit to Chinsali with him,” Mr Lungu said.
And President Lungu assured that he had heard St Ignatius Parish priest Charles Chilinda’s ‘cries’ during Easter on the fate of the former Rwandan refugees in Zambia following the expiry of their refugee status and that he would address the issue in due course.
‘Christians for Lungu’ chairperson Liya Mutale pledged the group’s support to the PF and its leadership ahead of the August 11, 2016 general elections.
Dr Mutale said the conference served as a platform to enhance mobilisation of like-minded Christian professionals interested in joining politics, and that the organisation’s strategic focus was to mobilise Christians from all denominations to support a God-ordained leadership.