MBINGA Roman Catholic Diocese Bishop John Ndimbo has urged public leaders to serve people diligently and ensure proper management of public funds channeled onto various development projects.
He equally called for the promotion of human rights, hinting that the prevalence of peace and tranquility greatly depended on how leaders attached great importance to such rights.
Bishop Ndimbo made the remarks on Wednesday during a Christmas mass held at the national level at the St Kilian Cathedral in Mbinga Roman Catholic Diocese of Ruvuma Region.
“A common trend is emerging whereby leaders have been reporting embezzlement in various projects caused by some unscrupulous government officials. “It implies that people have concentrated much on serving their own interests rather than those of the public they serve,” said Bishop Ndimbo.
Such acts of misappropriation of public funds tends to create social unrest among the intended societies, observed Bishop Ndimbo.
The Bishop was perplexed that such embezzlers are believers who go to churches or mosques, and warned the congregation there is no such faith which can tolerate misuse of public funds.
He referred to the teachings of Jesus Christ who always lived a righteous life, emphasizing on servant leadership for Christians.
“Jesus said ‘he did not come to be served but to serve’, even to our leaders, when they’re committed to servant leadership it is easy to gain recognition, trust and creating peace in society. “The role of a leader is to recognise the needs of others and acting upon such needs…when celebrating the life of the King of Peace, it is our duty to be agents of peace and justice,” he said.
He added that genuine peace is born through justice; if people cared about the rights of others then the country would forever remain peaceful.
The Bishop also stressed on the significance of meeting the people’s basic needs of food, shelter and clothes as among the key factors that may foster the country’s peace.
Among other crucial rights, the Cleric said, is access to healthcare services and education, arguing a nation whose people are devoid of the two essential services faces serious problems.
He called upon every public office bearer and the citizens to put more efforts toward the realisation of those important human rights aspects and in so doing, promote peace and unity.
“Each and every one at his or her own level, the family, the general public and other institutions in the society should uphold and respect the rights, goals of one another in reaching their destinies,” emphasized the Bishop.
Meanwhile, Roman catholic Zanzibar diocese bishop Augustine Ndeliakyama Shao reiterated calls for respect for human rights as per the country’s constitution and international conventions.
He said respect for human rights is a prerequisite for the building of a stable country.
“People have been questioning political and information freedom in the country, let the government clear obstacle in any, as we move towards general elections,” Shao said in his Christmas message in Zanzibar.
He said the Christmas should remind authorities and ordinary people about the importance of respect for human rights in all aspects.
The bishop also appealed to the Zanzibar government to find alternative of building sand as the shortage of material has led to inconveniences in the construction industry, particularly hitting hard the poor, who struggle to get the commodity.
“Promoting use of affordable gas is an alternative to the ban of cutting down of trees to protect the environment, we should also come up with an alternative solution to sand crisis,” Mr Shao said.
Authorities here declared in 2017 that Zanzibar is running short of sand for construction purposes due to reckless use.
Meanwhile, Bishop Michael Hafidh of the Anglican Church- Zanzibar said in his message on Christmas Day, “Let us use this Day to show love to each, and work jointly to fight the growing abuse of children and women. We need to win this war against abuse.”
