Maravi

NCC lacks consensus - Mpundu

NCC lacks consensus - Mpundu
By Brighton Phiri
Wednesday October 24, 2007 [04:00]

THE Catholic Church reserves the right to stay away from the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) if the contentious issues are not resolved, Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) president Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu maintained yesterday. Addressing the press at Lusaka's Kapingila House, Archbishop Mpundu, who is also Lusaka Diocese Archbishop, said the Catholic Church did not want to give legitimacy to a process which lacked proper consensus.

"Much has been said on boycotting or not boycotting the NCC. Focussing on the so-called boycott misses the point. The real issue at hand is the unanswered question: Can the NCC Act, in its current form, deliver a new constitution that will be embraced as legitimate by the people of Zambia, and stand the test of time?” Archbishop Mpundu asked.

“The answer is no! This is because the Act, as many groups have pointed out, is fundamentally flawed. This is why it is imperative to address the flaws before the NCC begins its work.”

Archbishop Mpundu said it was regrettable that the debate on the constitution making conference had assumed an anti-church and anti-Catholic rhetoric.

He said the government had nothing to fear from the Catholic Church because they were not seeking political, economic or social power.

“We are not kingmakers who tell their faithful, let alone the general public, who they should vote for or which party they should belong to. We are proud of and jealously guard the variety of political persuasions among our faithful whom we encourage to join parties of their choice,” he said.

“However, we don’t fail to give guidelines as to what type of persons should be elected to public office, namely; people of integrity, capable, competent with the interest of the common good of this country at heart. Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God, but we should remember that Caesar also belongs to God.”

Archbishop Mpundu said the Church and State were independent of each other, but collaborated to serve the persons and society.

He said the Church was not and did not intend to be a political agent, but that it had a deep interest for the good of the political community.

“We as a Catholic Church and particularly as Church leaders do not search for power, we do not expect privileges nor do we aspire for positions of economic and social advantage. Our only scope is to serve our people in our field of competence. In this we look to Jesus for example. In word and deed Jesus went about doing good and healing all.”
Archbishop Mpundu said it was unthinkable that ZEC could be an agent of fomenting unrest and trouble in the country over the NCC.

He said the Catholic Church was seeking a good and legitimate outcome of the constitution-making process.

“The foundation of all democratic thought is that the ruled or governed should participate in some way or some capacity in their ruling,” he said.

He said those calling for the aggrieved to present their grievances during the conference had overlooked the fact that the NCC Act would not be on the menu of the conference.

“By the time the NCC starts to meet, the members of the NCC will have made a solemn oath to abide by the Act. Is it not logical therefore that the time to re-look at the Act is now rather than later? We should be conscious that failure to build consensus on the way forward will leave this country terribly divided for many years to come,” he warned.

“Though the atmosphere surrounding the so-called debate on the constitution seems to be poisoned by unfortunate statements, all is not lost.”
He said this was the time for stakeholders to be realistic.

On President Mwanawasa’s invitation for a lecture on the NCC at State House, Archbishop Mpundu said no one should think that he or she was so learned that they could not listen to other persons.

He said the Catholic Church was united on its position and demanded that the NCC Act be amended before attending the conference.
“If we go to the conference to be lectured, then we will contribute little to the process,” he said.

He said the Catholic Church was ready to meet the government and get back to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross formula that resolved the 1991 tension in the country.

Labels: CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE, NCC, TELESPHORE MPUNDU, ZEC

posted by MrK @ 3:50 AM