“Thus Far the Lord has Brought Us”
(1 Sam 7:12
The
Joint Pastoral letter on the occasion of Zambia’s Golden Jubilee Independence
Celebration by the Three Christian Church Mother Bodies
“You will declare this
fiftieth year sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the inhabitants of the
land. This is to be a jubilee for you …” (Leviticus 25: 10)
1. INTRODUCTION
The
three Christian Church mother bodies, namely, the Council of Churches in Zambia
(CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), and the Zambia Episcopal
Conference (ZEC), joyfully greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This
year marks fifty years since that joyful occasion of gaining our national
independence on 24th October 1964. Our greatest gratitude goes to
God the Almighty who has brought us thus far (I Sam 7:12) and kept us together in
peace and unity (Psalm 46:12) and we pray that the Lord in his mercy continues
to stay with us (Luke 24:29).
On
this occasion of national importance, we convey our sincere gratitude to our
selflessly founding fathers and mothers including those still with us today as
well as those whom the Lord has called, for their valuable contribution to what
we are as Zambia today.
The
Jubilee year is time to celebrate our achievements and build on them. This is a
time to learn from our mistakes in order to build a better future for our
country.
2. THANKING GOD FOR HIS MANY BLESSINGS
UPON US
We
have many reasons to rejoice and celebrate in the context of our Golden
Jubilee. We note with gratitude that the absence of war and extreme civil
strife in our country has provided great opportunity for economic growth and
social development. Even in those trying moments of potential disintegration,
we have always emerged as a united society and forged forward as one nation. We
pray that this resilience remains within us and that all will work towards guarding
our peace jealously.
We
also thank God that here in Zambia, the State and the Church have over the
years partnered in the work of development and especially the provision of
social services such as education, health and social welfare. Despite some
occasional differences in perception on issues of governance, we can be proud
that every government has by and large allowed the Church to do its work of
evangelization.
Although
our politics are far from being mature, we still remain a relatively stable
multiparty democracy. Since independence, we have had smooth and peaceful political
transitions.
In
a spirit of true solidarity and commitment to the love of neighbour, Zambia invested time
and resources in supporting the liberation struggles in the region and the rest
of Africa. Zambia has also been a true home for many refugees and a place of
solace as well as a safe haven for people fleeing from civil wars and conflicts
in their troubled countries.
The
attainment of independence in 1964 has over the years seen evolvement and
growth in the liberties of Zambians. The country has moved from the colonial
legacy of racism and deprivation to an era where every person is treated with
dignity. Zambia has by and large seen
economic growth and increased participation in economic activities by the
Zambian population. We acknowledge with gratitude the strides made in investing
in education, health, infrastructure and other social services. The challenge though still remains for Zambia
to put in place better redistributive policies so that the majority poor and
the most vulnerable in our society are not left to be mere spectators in the
current economic prosperity.
We
thank God for blessing our country with such a variety and abundance of natural
resources. However, God’s endowment of these resources imposes obligations on
us of justice, equity and good stewardship.
3. CHALLENGES FACED BY OUR NATION IN
THE PAST, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
Whereas
some benefits were derived from political and economic reforms, such as
nationalization, one party participatory democracy, most sectors of the
countries were heavily affected. The country could not sustain itself
economically. Industries could not
generate sufficient income for our economy.
The country, compounded by the decline in copper prices, was pushed into
excessive borrowing from international financial institutions until it was
caught up in an unsustainable debt of more than 7 billion dollars. This has left
an indelible foot print on the economy of Zambia and peoples’ livelihoods whose
effects are still being felt today.
We
are in fact seriously concerned and saddened to see how our country is once
again slowly degenerating into unguarded practice of debt contraction. Whilst
borrowing is not be entirely avoided considering our limited and meager
internal revenue, we fully support the calls for stronger oversight on debt
contraction by the legislature so that Zambia does not reverse the gains of
debt forgiveness and slip back into another debt trap.
The
extreme and unsustainable welfare policies introduced by the government at the time
had a big toll on the economy and consequently the welfare of the people.
The
decision to outlaw multi-party politics in preference for a one party state
system retarded the development of democratic institutions. Much as we have
problems with our multi-party politics today, we should congratulate ourselves
as a country for returning to a plural political and liberalized economic
system in 1991.
The
austerity measures of economic reforms such as Structural Adjustment Programme
(SAP) had a toll more so on those who were already weak and poor.
4. DEFINING OUR FUTURE WITH FAITH AND HOPE
Jubilee
year is essentially a time of renewal, restoration, forgiveness and offering of
new possibilities as liberated sons and daughters of God (Leviticus 25). It is also
a time for recommitment to the rebuilding of Zambia’s nationhood. It is a time
of healing through genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a time to
restructure our political, social, economic and cultural systems and structures
and put in place ones that will promote social justice, the common good and
integral development for all Zambians.
We
call upon all Christians, people of other faiths and people of good will to
recommit themselves to the noble project of building a better Zambia anchored
on Christian values of love, truth, unity, hospitality, responsibility, social
justice, compassion and solidarity, accountability.
As
a country, we must strive to promote and practice civil politics which
recognizes the rights of others to associate, organize and communicate. We must
rekindle the spirit of nation building that has been lost through the growing
spirit of individualism and materialism. The spirit of ‘One Zambia - One Nation’
must be recalled and actively lived through our policies, programmes and practices
We
call upon those entrusted with stewardship of public goods like power, institutions
and resources to exercise their responsibility with transparency and commitment
to the common good of the Zambian people.
We
also note that there are still unacceptable high levels of poverty in Zambia
and disproportionate development biased towards urban areas while rural areas
have persistently been neglected. We demand to see genuine commitment by our
government to rural development.
We
use this opportunity of celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our independence to
call upon government to unblock the constitution making process that has
stalled for a longtime now by releasing the final draft of the constitution to
the public and guaranteeing a clear and inclusive road map that will lead to
the conclusion of the constitution making process through a national referendum
and in a timely manner.
We
call upon political leaders to educate their members on the value of civil and
peaceful politics. Zambia needs strong issue-based political parties which
would give citizens a genuine space for political participation.
We
also call on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to commit themselves to genuine
service of the people and good stewardship. We acknowledge that governance
practices and stewardship of financial resources has been a challenge for many
CSOs. We urge CSOs to be beacons of
accountability even to the beneficiaries in whose name resources are raised.
As
for the youth, we call upon them to demand their space; make demands for the better
and refuse to be used as mere tools of violence by politicians. Your future is
now! The youth must be an integral part of our development process.
We
also call upon our traditional leaders to be a uniting force for their people, a
focal point for everyone regardless of their political affiliations. We demand
to see more regulatory control on traditional authorities on their management
of natural resources in order to prevent abuse and ensure that the common good
is the cornerstone of their actions and decisions.
The
Church should remain vigilant to its prophetic mission of being ‘the conscience
of society.’ It should endeavor to promote social justice and the common good
through evangelisation. It has to
examine its own practices and lifestyle.
We are therefore saddened by the increasing reports of men who profess
to be servants of God engaging in vices that contradict or offend God’s
teachings. The Church must examine its rank and file and route out those whose
motive is to tarnish its name and the image of God. To our faithful and
committed brothers and sisters in the Lord, God calls each one of you to be the
salt and light of society. We
encourage the faithful to be fully engaged and participate in public life
including politics and business. We
extend a special appeal to all Christians who are in public offices to lead by
good examples and profess their faith by being visible witnesses of servant
leadership marked with moral integrity.
We
note with gratitude the media space that opened up in our country with the
return of Zambia to plural politics. This has enabled the country to have an
informed population and provided a platform for diverse discourse on various
national issues. We thus plead for unfettered space for media operations in our
country. On the other hand, we call upon
media bodies, public or private, to espouse a sense of duty to ethics and
professionalism.
5.
CONCLUSION
The
Lord has not abandoned us in the turbulence of our fifty years of independence.
We have shared our joys and sorrows as a people. The word of God spoken through
prophet Isaiah resounds in our minds as we celebrate our Golden Jubilee and as
we look to the future with hope and gladness: ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you’ (Isaiah 43:5).
We
therefore ask the Almighty in his mercy to stay with us. But we must all take responsibility
for the future of our country.
May
God bless our great nation and happy golden jubilee to every Zambian.
Issued
on 24th October 2014
Signed
by:
____________________ ____________________ ___________________
Rev. Dr. Alfred Kalembo Bishop Joseph Imakando Most
Rev. T.G Mpundu
(President – CCZ) (Board Chairperson – EFZ) (President
– ZEC)
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