Staff Writer
Different church denominations have called for the suspension of polls in Zimbabwe for seven years, said the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) Secretary General Reverend Kenneth Mtata.
He said that it is their belief that national unity was paramount to address the current political paralysis, deepening mistrust and the dehumanizing economic decline.
“We, the leaders of the ZHOCD made up of Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, United Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa, Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and Zimbabwe Council of Churches, met at the Africa Synod House on October 7, 2019 to consider the currently unfolding national crisis in its totality and to propose what we believe is a comprehensive but sustainable solution to it.
We have prayerfully come to the conclusion that in light of the current political paralysis, deepening mistrust and the economic decline, the nation will need to take a bold decision to address the root causes of the our national challenges that have a very long history and will not be fully resolved by one entity.”
“In this light we are calling the nation to Sabbath on all political contestation for a period of seven years to allow for the rebuilding of trust and confidence, reset our politics and chart a shared way forward towards a comprehensive economic recovery path in a non-competitive political environment,” he said.
The church argued that this position builds on the founding vision of the 2006 church discussion document entitled “The Zimbabwe We Want” and also on the proposal from the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations Episcopal Conference held at the Large City Hall, Bulawayo from May 8 and 9, 2019.
He said it is based on God’s command to his people to set aside the seventh day for a rest, Seven years were also considered as Sabbath years.
Rev Mtata said, “Seven -year Sabbaths or forty-nine years constituted what was called the Jubilee season. In this Jubilee season, land would be left fallow so that it could recover its nutrients. Debts would be forgiven. New relationships would be built and God would bless his people. Since its independence in 1980, Zimbabwe reaches her Jubilee year in 2029. The nation could use the coming period to usher in a true Jubilee for the nation by removing all political contestation from the land and focus the period on healing past wounds, recover the economy, and build a new political culture of cooperation focused on nation-building.”
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) Secretary-General Frederick Chiromba earlier revealed that they had engaged MDC leader Nelson Chamisa and handed over their proposal and also met Zanu PF leader President Emmerson Mnangagwa at his Munhumutapa offices and gave him the same proposal. In mid-September ZHOCD, which is made up of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Council of Churches, UDACIZA and ZCBC, said they had lost confidence in the economic policies that were causing the suffering of ordinary citizens.
The proposal by the churches however was met with mixed feelings especially by those who outrightly called the action unconstitutional as the constitution of Zimbabwe calls for elections every five years.
While this maybe a great thing to consider for the general public, what precedence does it provide to the elections after this? How does the country respect democracy if politicians would then suggest the same?
The suggestion maybe favourable for the in power, but how about those who rightfully want to contest and feel that the exiting power is failing the people? How about if those that are in power do not respect morals for doing things right but continue to worsen the situation ?
The biblical call for 7 years to rest also followed God fearing and of the same vision leadership, the church does not seem to validate this important aspect that this proposed move might not be supported by the same values in the present leadership as was with the leadership in the biblical times.
Add comment