ZAMBIA: ZCCB AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS CONCERNED WITH TRIBAL AND REGIONAL POLITICS IN ZAMBIA.
The Oasis Forum has noted with concern the degeneration of Zambia’s National Identity in the face of tribal and regional politics.
Oasis Forum Chairperson who is also Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) Secretary General Fr. Cleophas said that public officers such as the police, whose role it is to protect every citizen from danger, refuse to discharge their functions impartially and professionally.
Fr. Lungu has also said that the Zambian parliament is so divided on party lines. “We do not have strong and effective participation in parliament by those elected to represent us. We see that the fate of our country could rest on a fight over whose motorcade should go ahead first. We see our leaders who profess to be Christians following a path that only leads to darkness, destruction and despair. It is the Zambian people who are suffering. In a country where poverty, illiteracy and poor health are rife, we the Zambian people deserve much better than this,” he said.
The Oasis Forum also questioned when tribe or the political party one belongs to become more important than being a citizen of Zambia.
“Almost fifty- four years ago our fore fathers brought the people of Northern Rhodesia together to form a single identity under the slogan, ‘One Zambia, One Nation’. The seed of division that is being sown for political gain will not profit this country. We need unity in our country more than ever and that can only come from a sense of common identity, a sense that we share a common future and a love for our country,” he said.
The Oasis Forum has since called on all leaders in Zambia, political, religious and civic to come together and transcend whatever differences exist among them. They urged the political class to say no to partisan politics, no to the destruction of the rule of law, no to hatred and violence and instead uphold unity, peace, love, understanding and our basic humanity.
The Oasis Forum is a platform of Church and civic organisations. These comprise Church bodies such as the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) and Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ). Others are the women’s umbrella movement, the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) and the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ).
