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Charles Mwewa
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Not the time to open churches, President Lungu

Not the time to open churches, President Lungu

Not the time to open churches, President Lungu

[April 26, 2020]

[See ZambianEye report on this article]


 There are rumors the Zambian president has directed that churches open in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. State House (Zambian Government House) has, however, “clarif[ied] that His Excellency, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia, has not directed churches to open. In his address to the nation on Friday, the President said; ‘I have decided that some activities such as the following may continue being undertaken normally subject to adhering to public health regulations, guidelines and certification…”


Africa, Zambia, included, is, of all continents, the least prepared and the least-resourced to fight the coronavirus (Covid-19). Zambia is not capable of fighting the pandemic. There are not enough, equipped hospitals. There are less well-trained specialized physicians. There is no SafetyNet to provide healthcare and treatment. And there are not enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ventilators to aid in the combat against Covid-19, should it invade Zambia full throttle. The best remedy to Covid-19 in Zambia is prevention. Nothing more.


Through social distancing, closure of worship centres, closure of contact businesses and sports and any such similarly-situated activities, the nation will be better placed than otherwise to defeat the pandemic. The disease has not reached its apex in Zambia – and this is the best time to take all necessary precautions to limit its spread. Coronavirus is already in Zambia, and that is the danger of it. That once it comes, it can only be stopped by either people not coming in contact or by people knowing their statuses so that they can either self-isolate or be quarantined. A church, a congregation, provides contact or proximal association for people. It is by design a breeding ground for the spread of Covid-19. It does not take revelation or rocket science to know this. And the Government of Zambia know this very well. To make matters worse, Zambian churches may not have enough masks, available water sources and enough sanitary disinfectants to brace against the communalism of more than fifty persons in one place.


The president may be ill-advised, or even threatened by some religious figures that God would not allow His people to be infected because of Bible injunctions that inform on drinking poison and not dying. Such would be misinterpretation and misunderstanding of Scriptures. The president could, similarly, have been influenced by political or religious figures in Zambia who depend on the goodwill and the congregation of the people to collect offerings, which due to Covid-19 restrictions, may be running out. Such reasoning may be reasonable, but is inimical to the wellbeing and good health of the people. The danger of leaving churches open is that it will expose widely the entire nation to Covid-19, not only to those who will be congregating. People in those meetings will infect each other and then take the infection further to other people they will interact with in mini-buses, marketplaces and homes. 


The Zambian government should act boldly, resolutely and decisively and stop all church meetings of a certain number. But it should also provide short-term financial relief to pastors and priests in full-time employment. Pastors and priests should also act wisely and creatively and invent smart ways of continuing preaching and collecting some money from their congregation. But there is a caveat: Don’t collect money from people who have no financial sources of income during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some churches should consider meeting the payroll needs of some of their smaller branches through the saving reserves they have amassed in good, non-Covid-19 pandemic times.


No government should foolishly subject its people to the pandemic. No church leader should demand physical meetings during this time. Prayer for the pandemic to end should continue in homes and online. Covid-19 shall surely end, with God’s intervention as well as through the intelligence of science. But until then, church building-gatherings should remain closed to the public. 

charles mwewa RECENT articles

Not the time to open churches, President Lungu

Not the time to open churches, President Lungu

At Muckrack.Com: View the articles

At African Executive: October 6, 2020

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WHAT'S TRENDING?

Zambian students are effectively using Charles Mwewa's book, "Zambia: Struggles of My People." 

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politicians and wealth creation

"Nations have the right to drink alcohol as long as it is not abused. But a nation that begins to consume early in the morning on work days will surely be condemned to poverty and lack of productivity. Zambia should not allow itself to encourage OVER-CONSUMPTION of alcohol. It doesn't built a nation." (Charles mwewa)

"Nations have the right to drink alcohol as long as it is not abused. But a nation that begins to consume early in the morning on work days will surely be condemned to poverty and lack of productivity. Zambia should not allow itself to encourage OVER-CONSUMPTION of alcohol. It doesn't built a nation." (Charles mwewa)

"Politicians don't directly create wealth, they manage available resources. But they directly influence and create policy through legislation (in democratic countries, at least) so that citizens can create wealth. You don't have to expect that Kaunda, or Chiluba or Mwanawasa or Rupiah or Sata or Lungu is going to suddenly bring wealth. However, politicians should create an "enabling environment" to empower the people to creatively manipulate resources and make wealth for themselves (businesses) and others (employment). The error we have made in Zambia, for example, is that we expect government to create jobs for us. This stagnates wealth creation and makes poverty a natural consequence. Anyone who depends on government for wealth will not be rich, unless corruption is encouraged." - Charles Mwewa

"Nations have the right to drink alcohol as long as it is not abused. But a nation that begins to consume early in the morning on work days will surely be condemned to poverty and lack of productivity. Zambia should not allow itself to encourage OVER-CONSUMPTION of alcohol. It doesn't built a nation." (Charles mwewa)

"Nations have the right to drink alcohol as long as it is not abused. But a nation that begins to consume early in the morning on work days will surely be condemned to poverty and lack of productivity. Zambia should not allow itself to encourage OVER-CONSUMPTION of alcohol. It doesn't built a nation." (Charles mwewa)

"Nations have the right to drink alcohol as long as it is not abused. But a nation that begins to consume early in the morning on work days will surely be condemned to poverty and lack of productivity. Zambia should not allow itself to encourage OVER-CONSUMPTION of alcohol. It doesn't built a nation." (Charles mwewa)

The three problems identified that Zambia faces today, in order of priority, according to the responses received at Charles Mwewa's forum are: (1) Lack of exemplary, creative and progressive leadership; (2) Rampant, uncontrolled and political corruption; and (3) Unwillingness of qualified, competent and people with new ideas to get involved in national governance in order to provide solutions to such vices as poverty, undemocratic tendencies, ignorance and etc. 

Zambia, Policy Ideas

BRIDGE-GAP LEADERSHIP

BRIDGE-GAP LEADERSHIP

BRIDGE-GAP LEADERSHIP

Bridge-Gap Leadership 


What is the most urgent type of leadership Zambia needs? The most critical kind of political leadership Zambia needs is a BRIDGE-GAP LEADERSHIP (a short-term goal leadership to usher in a leadership with a long-term mandate). In 5 years, this leadership should enact policies and systems that are meant to first change the national mindset towards things like responsibility, diligence, care for nature and environment, investment, order, a mentality that rejects the current poverty state (policies that make poverty a crime against human rights), and etc. Then the next 5 years, set up an agenda that empowers every Zambian to gain a responsible free, basic education that is quality enough to enable them to read, write and solve basic social problems; create a competitive economic environment that enables employment creation and business incentivised support system that forces everyone to obtain gainful employment or sustainable businesses; healthcare that is relatively accessible or free for the most killer but preventable diseases like malaria, AIDS, and etc.; and a government with zero-tolerance policy on corruption, lethargy, tribalism and nepotism. 


Pray & Do for Zambia


 If you are praying today in Zambia, pray that God gives your political leaders wisdom and courage to provide an environment that is pro-economic growth. And pray, too, that the citizens begin to DO something with their plenty of time they have to create wealth for themselves - and not simply lazying there waiting for handouts! 


Same Old Leaders, Same Old Results


 What happens if government after government, president after president make promise after promise and repeatedly advance the country not even an inch? Why do Zambians keep voting for the same people, who achieve nothing, and leave the nation worse than they found it? Can you call that governance or leadership? 

4 WEAK POINTS OF POWER

BRIDGE-GAP LEADERSHIP

BRIDGE-GAP LEADERSHIP

 Power, by its design, has four major weaknesses. Any leader, whether in politics, religion, social or any other persuasion of life, will have to guard against these four pitfalls:

1. NOT LISTENING: This is the first weakness of Power. It is also the first sign that a leader has started to be corrupted by Power. They are not there yet, but they have entered the path to self-destruction, autocratic tendencies, and self-belief. When a leader stops to listen to advisers, spouse, colleagues and the people, they have begun on a road to corruption.

2. FLATTERY: This is the second stage to corruption. It is the sign that you are moving from responsible Power into absolute or autocratic Power. It begins by looking for, and sometimes, soliciting flattery. Such leaders will like to hear only what they want. The trouble begins when they can’t or don’t hear what they want to hear. Everyone else not sharing their opinions or point of view is an enemy, and must be isolated or ostracized.

3. PRIDE: Pride and flattery are related, only that Pride is deeper and more ruthless. Pride is the third stage to Power corruption. When power becomes Pride, it closes all opportunities to other points of view and only considers its own as legitimate. At this stage, it eliminates opposition, refuses to listen to reason and becomes conceited. When Power is Pride, people are nothing but things to be used to reach the leader’s ends. Power, at this stage, believes it is always right. Usually, at this stage, Power has corrupted a leader to the point of killing anyone who stands in their way.

4. CORRUPTION: The final stage of Power corruption. The regime, order, rule, church, and so on, at this stage, is ruined; it’s rotten to the core, usually irreversibly. Power, at this stage uses everything, including law, to reprise opponents (usually, at this stage, opposition is none-existent). Law becomes tyranny. Democratic or religious institutions become weapons of mass corruption. Common-sense becomes avaricious. Power doesn’t just kill, it kills at will, and sometimes, just on sheer speculation. The only way to reverse an absolute corrupt Power is to use mutiny, revolution or democratic mass protest that paralyses absolute Power.

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"Zambia: Struggles of My People" by Charles Mwewa

key topics in struggles of my people

Why Zambia - Struggles?

Bibliography to "Zambia: Struggles"

Pre-Independence Zambia 

Struggles for Independence 

Independence Theories 

The Second Republic 

Attempted Coups 

Presidential Politics 

Law Rule in Zambia 

Human Rights in Zambia

Criminal Reform in Zambia

Sexual-Orientation Debate 

Church Politics in Zambia

The Clergy and Politics in Zambia

Zambian Church History 

Christian Nation Politics 

The Third Republic 

Debt Politics 

Humanistic Economy 

Economic Future 

Upper Middle-Income Vision 

Technology Nation 

Economic Struggles 

Economic Globalization 

Welfare State  

Universality of Corruption 

Corruption in Zambia 

Good Governance 

The Chiluba Matrix 

The Politics of Culture  

The Language Debate 

Media in Zambia 

Zambian Authors 

Information and Privacy 

Internet Communication 

Emerging Zambian Leaders 

Diaspora Politics  

Rural Poverty in Zambia

Shanty Towns in Zambia

Learn More

In 2011, Charles Mwewa became the first single author to write a book covering all topics from law to economics, to culture, to politics and to the history of Zambia. The book has 1,100 pages with about 500 books and references cited. The book has over 2,500 footnotes. In 2017, Charles Mwewa began the project to re-make the book into volumes to make it easier to read and follow. Volume One is already available with its companion "Test Bank".

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