By
– 01/10/2014
Members of Parliament (MPs) that
belong to the Catholic Church in Malawi have been challenged to be God fearing
leaders and to advance development policies that promote the good of the people
that they represent in their respective constituencies.
The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison
Officer of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Fr. Henry Chinkanda said
this when he presented a paper entitled “Politics with a Christian Face:
Biblical Foundation of Political Leadership” at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe on
10th September 2014.
Fr. Chinkanda said that as
representatives of the people, Members of Parliament should always remember
that it is God’s people they lead and therefore their leadership style should
be that of service after Christ the model leader.
“Our National Anthem starts by
invoking God’s blessings on this country, “O God bless the land of Malawi!”
This is an indication that Malawi is a God fearing nation. It means that we are
a nation that is guided by both natural and divine law governed by principles
that ensure the common good for all in accordance with God’s design who is ever
good to all his creatures, “said Fr. Chinkanda.
He added by saying that “As
Christians who live by the inspiration we get from the Bible, we know that God
is the first politician in as far as, by politics; we mean people’s welfare and
especially that of the voiceless, the poor and downtrodden.”
According to Fr. Chinkanda “God was
always at the centre of the political, social and religious life of his
people”.
Fr. Chinkanda, therefore, challenged
the Catholic MPs to exercise their power and authority on behalf of God who is
the ultimate power and authority.
For his part, Pparliamentarian for
Mangochi Central, who is also Second Deputy Speaker in the National Assembly,
Honourable Clement Chiwaya commended the Catholic Church in Malawi for always
remembering and giving direction to its Christians including Members of Parliament.
“It is an disputable fact that the
Catholic Church played an important role for democracy to be become a reality
in this country. I therefore feel that we politicians will always consider
coming closer to the Church and value our principles as committed Christians,”
he said.
Adding her voice, Minister of
Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Honourable Patricia Kaliati asked the
Church to continue with such initiative, saying that, “… this will serve as a
reminder of the promises we made to our constituents.”
During the same occasion, the
Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) Interacted with the MP’s.
During the interface, the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM),
backed up by testimony given by farmers that were representing the communities,
Mr. Mazinga, the Program officer presented issues of socio-economic concern
regarding fair market policies that would ensure economic justice for the small
farmers in the country.
Other notable parliamentarians who
attended the event were the former first lady and MP for Balaka West, Patricia
Shanil Dzimbiri, Ralph Jooma of Mangochi Monkey Bay and Meleka Chiwondo of
Mangochi West.
