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SA
churches blast Zim leaders
The Standard (Zimbabwe)
November 17, 2004
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/read.php?st_id=1010
BULAWAYO - A high-powered
delegation of South African Churches on Thursday blasted Zimbabwean leaders
and their African colleagues whom they said continued to cling on to power
while their citizens were suffering.
Reverend Elijah Maswanganyi, who led the delegation that attended a week-long
conference of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa held in Bulawayo,
in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, said such actions deserved
strong condemnation.
Maswanganyi said there
was an urgent need of young blood in the leadership in Zimbabwe and Africa
if the socio-political situation and economies of African countries were
to improve. "The problem with our leadership today is that of holding
onto power for too long and they seem not too keen to pass on the torch
to others. The main reason for clinging to power is simply because of
their sins, and they don't trust anyone."
He told the SADC delegates
that the region urgently needed leaders with no chieftainship, autocracy
and beliefs in royalty if southern African nations were to develop.
The 38 church leaders
from 14 SADC countries - who attended the SADC churches solidarity conference,
also strongly slammed the NGOs Bill which they described as "poisonous"
and " detrimental to human life development".
They said only heartless
and inhumane lawmakers during the time of Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh, could
craft such "harsh and crude" laws.
When time came for
Archbishop Pius Ncube to speak, the whole conference was temporarily stalled
after Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives invaded the room,
outnumbering the delegates.
Ncube, however, did
not present his address on the current Zimbabwe crisis at the scheduled
time because of the CIO disruption. He did so on Friday morning amid applause
from SADC church leaders who praised him for being "brave", "just" and
"sincere" to the whole world.
Ncube said there was
urgent need for the SADC region and the international community to exert
more pressure on Mugabe and his government so that the country could return
to the rule of law.
Meanwhile, the churches
on Friday signed a Bulawayo Declaration, which called on all the parties
to work towards promoting good governance and leadership through biblical
principles that will reduce political intolerance, violence and corruption.
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