Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE Civic Society and Churches Joint Forum (CSC JF) has called for the government to appoint a minister of religion to oversee the sector by working hand in hand with churches and other religious groups to foster their interests since they are the largest groups in the country.
They said the appointed minister will represent the church at government policy level.
The call was made by CSC JF co-ordinator Max Mkandla, who said the government should also understand that churches like the Johane Masowe and others do not believe in the construction of buildings for worship and the proposed minister would have to understand their beliefs and provide land for
ablution facilities near their worship sites.
He urged the local authorities not to chase away open air worship churches mostly dominated by the apostolic sect groups, adding that it is their belief that they should worship in open spaces and they should not be punished for what they believe in.
“The minister should also find out from the councils why those people are not having stands in areas where there is illegal farming conducted by residents,” Mkandla said.
“There is a need for the councils to allocate these churches for the construction of toilets in their worshiping spaces.
“These churches are being denied access to stands, even after applying for them. I have visited some of these churches. Some of them say they have gone for 10 years waiting for the stands after applying.”
CSC JF’s call comes at a time when many local authorities have since introduced laws that ban open air worship, blaming the practice for pollution and environmental hazards that pose serious health time bombs in the local authorities’ jurisdictions.
Plumtree Town Council recently introduced a by-law banning open air worship, effective January next year.
Mkandla added that the government should also drill boreholes close to the open air worship sites to accomplish the water, sanitation and hygiene practices in such communities.
“The people in this country are Christians, they put God first and they must be allowed to practice their religion anywhere,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press
