ZAMBIA: Pay Attention to Hunger – Bishops
Bishop Chinyemba with ZCCB staff
Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) says there is need to pay attention to the hunger situation in the country.
During the 2019 rain season, Zambia’s Southern, Western and some parts of Eastern, Central and Lusaka Provinces experienced crop failure and the estimated number of households affected during the lean period of November 2019 – March 2020 has risen from 1.9 Million reported in March to 2.3 million.
In June 2019, the Catholic Bishops of Zambia made an appeal for resources to help the people that are suffering due to food shortage.
flanked by ZCCB Secretary General Fr. Cleophas Lungu (l)
and Mr. Eugeen Kabilika (R)
In an address to journalists during the 2019 ZCCB media day in Lusaka at the Catholic Secretariat, Caritas Zambia Bishop Director Rt. Rev. Evans Chinyemba OMI who is also the Ordinary for Mongu Diocese has since revealed that they have managed to raise a total of 20,264. USD which has since been disbursed to some of the affected in the dioceses.
“This was little but support went a long way feeding a total of about 1,000 people in Mongu, Monze and Livingstone. Obviously, we need more and efforts are still being made to raise more resources not only to feed the people but also to help them recover from the draught,” he said.
The Bishops have also recognized that there is a steady rise of a culture of non-respect of human life in the country.
“It is sad to note that Zambia has continued to record high numbers of cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV). This is worrying because it shows that our society, despite the information that is being disseminated against GB, is simply refusing to change. Unfortunately, these acts have also led to loss of life in some cases,” Rt. Rev. Chinyemba said.
He added that the Catholic Church considers the right to life as basic and fundamental to all human beings. As such, the Bishops are convinced that failure to promote and protect fundamental human rights and freedoms, lack of a democratic culture of tolerance and respect for divergent views and opinions, is the root cause of the political violence Zambia is currently experiencing.
“That is why, working in a context where respect for human rights and people’s freedoms are limited requires consented efforts by all stakeholders to show the benefits of creating a culture of democracy where human rights are respected, promoted and defended,” Bishop Chinyemba said.
Bishop Chinyemba has said that the plight of pensioners who worked faithfully for Government continues to worry the Bishops’ Conference. They have since demanded that Government responds to their cries.
“It is great injustice to deny what someone worked for. It is not good that senior citizens should be subjected to sleeping at railway and bus stations, waiting for their payment,” he said.
He also said that the Bishops are shocked to learn that some leaders have been sharing forest reserve land even though the country continues to experience adverse impacts of climate change.
The theme for the 2019 ZCCB media day was Justice, Peace and Respect for All.
By Mwenya Mukuka, ZCCB Communications Officer
