I will listen to Church, says President Lungu

PRESIDENT Lungu says a committee of eminent clergymen has been set up to help raise funds for the construction of the inter-denominational House of Prayer for All Nations Tabernacle.President Lungu said resources for the construction will not come from the treasury as feared by some people and that he will always get counsel from the clergy.Speaking when he officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony of the facelift of Our Heavenly Father Parish in Chelston yesterday, the head of State said Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska is expected to make the announcement soon.President Lungu regretted that there has been criticism following his declaration of October 18 as a day of worship and subsequent declaration to build a house of God for believers.“There has been criticism for many of us who are Christians and want to speak out as Christians from the political arena. We have been accused of trying to politick and bring the Church into our politics because we are failing to meet our calling as politicians.Should I abandon my faith because I am a politician? I say no to that. We congregate in church and church leaders are our fathers, too, even as we remain politicians. We have a duty to listen to them when they call, when they wish to advise us, and when they commend us on what we are doing, we are happy,” he said.President Lungu said it is unfortunate that when the Church condemns politicians, it is asked to stop interfering in politics.“For me, that is the old way of doing things. As a politician, I listen to the clergy. I will listen to their praise, I will listen to their counsel, I will listen to their condemnations,” he said.President Lungu, who commended the Parish for the initiative to raise funds for the expansion of the church, also called for strengthened partnerships between the church, Government and other stakeholders.He said this will provide an enabling environment which will make it easier for the church to raise the much-required funds to sustain their operations and implementation of development projects.“Building a church is one of the highest points of faith as Christians and, therefore, what you are doing here is the actual realisation of the scripture that requires us to build a house of prayer,” he said.Immediate past Parish priest Father Lastone Lupupa advised President Lungu to never doubt his Presidency as he was appointed to lead Zambia by God.Father Lupupa said the clergy in Zambia are President Lungu’s spiritual bodyguards who pray for his well-being so that he may govern the country the way God intended him to.Parish priest Godwin Mulenga urged the President to seek God’s wisdom in the running of the country and make Him his economic advisor as Zambia goes through challenging times.And Parish finance committee chairperson Patrick Chisanga said the church has managed to raise K1 million through fundraising ventures for the expansion project, which is estimated to cost K3.5 million.