In a statement made available to the Maravi Post, Government says it has learnt that in the on-going campaign for the position of the General Secretary of the Blantyre Synod of the CCAP
Church, some candidates are using the name of the State President, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, to canvass for support.
Government says it has also been confirmed that during the campaign in question some candidates are claiming that they have been given financial resources by the State President as proof that their candidature has been endorsed by His Excellency Professor Mutharika who, incidentally, is a faithful of the Blantyre synod.
According to the same statement, the truth of the matter is that His Excellency Professor Mutharika is not involved in the campaign, has not endorsed any candidate and is not backing any contender in the said campaign. He is just following the developments like any other faithful of that synod.
The President is of the firm view that the Church is a vital partner in assisting Government to fight corruption and cultivate unity among the people, two vital ingredients for achieving socioeconomic development in Malawi. As such the State President cannot be party to machinations of dividing the Church by siding with one candidate against another or indeed sowing seeds of corruption by supporting one candidate with financial resources to campaign against another.
The President wishes to advise all competing candidates to campaign in a manner that gives glory to God because it is Him they were called to serve. God is a strong advocate for unity and a champion against bribes. As such, as they campaign, let them edify, not divide, the body of Christ which is the Church, so that a united synod will contribute to inspiring the nation to respond positively to the call of unity of purpose.
Meanwhile, Government wishes to assure members of the clergy that it remains committed to safeguarding their right to holding religious beliefs and expressing them without let or hindrance. As such, following recent media reports, no member of the clergy should feel threatened or indeed live in fear for holding their respective religious views.
Government wishes to appeal for religious tolerance and coexistence because it is from living in diversity that we draw the richness that we need to expand the limits of our ideas and together achieve the distance of progress that our country badly needs.
