CCAP Nkhoma Synod issues pastoral letter, dismayed with governance deterioration and poor leadership
Nkhoma Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) has faulted the Peter Mutharika administration for the deterioration of governance in the country and a myriad of social-economic ills.
In a hard-hitting Pastoral Letter read out in its churches on Sunday says tribalism, nepotism and regionalism is still rampant as recruitment of employees and award of contracts in the public institutions is based on tribe, ethnicity and personal relationship with the ruling elite notwithstanding their qualifications and competences.
“This results in substandard works being done on roads and bridges that are easily washed away like the Mchesi bridge in the city of Lilongwe and the Linthipe 1 to Thete road,” says the letter in part.
The pastoral letter says leaders are serving their own personal interests or interests of their cronies other than of Malawians.
The Synod also says the clergy are greatly saddened that corruption has persistently continued, despite numerous calls from the faith based, civil society organisations and the opposition political parties to arrest the vice.
“It is being institutionalized at all levels in all ministries, departments and agencies without the leadership demonstration of political will in action. The numerous unresolved corruption cases attest to this fact,” says the pastoral letter.
The pastoral letter cites the food ration gate; the K145 million scandal which shamefully involved president Peter Mutharika, Pioneer Investment and the police as an example of endemic corruption.
The pastoral letter also gives as examples of endemic corruption the K37 billion tractor gate, Escom’s K 3.7 billion fuel gate, the maize gate, the OPC K29 billion gate in which the suspicious money was released from OPC to Green Belt Trust.
The pastoral letter also cites the K4.4 billion allowance and fuel gate in which K4.4 billion in allowances on trips which officials never undertook and fuel which was never bought as examples of the corruption.
Others include the K53 billion Escom gate, the Immigration uniform gate where one shirt is bought at K700, 000, genset gate, K444 million Foreign Affairs gate.
“All these under the watchful eyes of the current administration and its machinery,” says the pastioral letter.
The pastoral letter says it is immoral, unthinkable and unreasonable for any sane person to believe that things are normal when Malawians are languishing with poverty.
When contacted, Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Henry Mussa, who is also the official government spokesperson, said he had not seen or read the letter.
The predominantly Central Region-based church urged over one million of its faithful to pray to God to protect their faith and guide them in choosing leaders who will improve their lives in the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
Nkhoma Synod is part of the CCAP General Synod which also comprises Blantyre Synod and Livingstonia Synod in Malawi and Harare and Lusaka synods.
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