Govt reviewing letter from Catholic Bishops, would respond in due course —Mweetwa (video)

Government has taken note of the pastoral letter released by Catholic Bishops of Zambia., Chief Government Spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa, has said.

Government, he noted, was studying the content of the letter and would give a comprehensive response at the earliest possible time.

Responding to the letter, Mweetwa stated that government found the letter well meant and had since advised United Party for National Development (UPND) party functionaries not to respond.

“We urge all our people out there not to respond because this letter is meant for government and only those in government should respond,” he said.

The Catholic Bishops on Friday, through the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops president, Archbishop Ignitius Chama, demanded transparency and accountability on debt restructuring and mining concessions.

Chama also regretted the utterances by ruling UPND Secretary-General, Batuke Imenda, for branding Lusaka Archbishop, Alick Banda as ‘Lucifer’ of Zambia.

On the Judiciary, Chama noted that it was the mandate of the judiciary to adjudicate in matters where a stalemate has been reached in a political party.

He said this should be done in an impartial, objective, and timely manner.

“We call upon the Chief Justice of Zambia to provide effective leadership to the bench so that matters that require urgent resolution are heard and determined in an efficient manner,” Chama stressed.

He said any undue delays by the Judiciary in adjudicating political disputes has the potential to heighten tension in the country and stoke further divisions.

On Parliament, Chama noted that the National Assembly was a place of honour and dignity endowed with the privilege to legislate on behalf of the Zambian people but that, however, some of the recent happenings in the House fell below the expectation of the citizenry.

“We, therefore, urge the House and especially the presiding officers and lawmakers to conduct themselves above board and instil confidence in the people with regard to this important arm of government,” he said.

Chama further urged the Speaker Nelly Mutti to embrace criticism, build multi-partisan consensus, and accept that she was the Speaker of the National Assembly, not of a given political party or another arm of Government.

He stated that it was also important for presiding officers in the National Assembly to follow the Constitution of Zambia, not precedence or tradition, when dealing with issues that touched on the supreme law of the land and whose resolution had a significant bearing on the character of the Republic as a multiparty democracy.

“The election of different leaders in the National Assembly, for instance, should be guided by the Constitution, not precedence, especially in instances where that precedence may be unconstitutional,” Chama said.

The Clergyman noted that precedence was to be observed only in relation to following the constitution of the Republic, not its violation.

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