President Lazarus Chakwera Monday met with leaders of the General Assembly of the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP).
At the meeting, Chakwera challenged them to preach peace ahead of the September 16 general elections.
Briefing reporters at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe after the meeting, CCAP General Assembly Moderator Bizwick
Chimbalu Nkhoma said the President also challenged them to promote winter cropping in the wake of looming hunger.
“He said he was very happy to see us, especially this year when we are preparing for the general elections. He told us that we have to work together in making sure that we are curbing cases of political violence through preaching peace and other messages of unity, tolerance, forgiveness as we belong to one Malawi and we have to be patriotic.
“He has also challenged us [to do something] because of the looming hunger. You know, we have had erratic rains this year and most parts of the country will not harvest [enough]. So, His Excellency is challenging us, as a church, to play a very active role in as far as disseminating the message to our Christians. This time around, [he is encouraging us] to plant winter crops and other crops that may be used as one way of mitigating the looming hunger in our country,” Nkhoma said.
He added that the General Assembly also conveyed a message of gratitude to Chakwera for the support he rendered to the assembly during its 100th anniversary last year.
According to Nkhoma, as the Christians continue to face economic challenges, they also asked the President to put in place strategies to address issues such as those of rising commodity prices and looming hunger.
The moderator said the General Assembly would soon be issuing a statement on their stance on political violence cases that have been registered in the country.
On his part, Presidential Adviser on Religious Affairs Brian Kamwendo described the meeting as crucial.
“It was a moment where the General Assembly came to pray together with the President but, secondly, an issue to do with diversification of agroeconomics. The CCAP General Assembly demonstrated their concern based on issues to do with climate change, which are also on His Excellency’s agenda,” Kamwendo said.
The CCAP General Assembly comprises five synods of the church, namely Nkhoma, Blantyre, Livingstonia, Harare and Zambia.
0 Comments