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.