By Prince Henderson
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has announced the appointment of Martin Chiphwanya and Martin Mazinga as new national secretaries for Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) respectively.
The two have until their official appointments, been working for the respective commissions in acting capacity from July 1 ,2016.
According to statements which have been signed by ECM Secretary General, Fr. Henry Saindi, the appointments follow a plenary which took place in June this year in which Bishops decided to appoint the two in the two positions.
“I call upon all the diocesan, local and international partners to give the two all the support they need to succeed in their new positions,” reads the statement in part.
Both Chiphwanya and Mazinga joined ECM’s CCJP and CADECOM as national programmes coordinators.
Chiphwanya replaces Chris Chisoni who resigned from his post while Mazinga replaces Carsterns Mulume who is now the Director of Social Development, a position introduced under the new strategic plan for ECM.
As national secretaries, the two will be responsible in coordinating projects under their commissions at national level and in all the eight dioceses in Malawi.
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) was founded in 1992 to promote awareness of human rights, justice and peace in the communities the church serves.Its mission is the creation of a God–fearing, just and peaceful Malawian society that promotes integral development and lasting peace that will contribute to the common effort of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and the whole church.
On the other hand, the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) was established in 1984 as Caritas Malawi. In 1999, Caritas Malawi was renamed CADECOM but remains a member of Caritas Internationalist.
Its mission is to create awareness and empower disadvantaged men, women and the youth at all levels to undertake development which is integral, gender and environmentally sensitive, sustainable and which promotes justice, human dignity and self reliance with the active participation of the people themselves so that they take up the responsibility of their own destiny.