10 Feb 2019

Government appreciates the role played by faith-based organisations in society.

Deputy permanent secretary to Permanent Secretary to the President, Mr Ernest Phiri, said this at the official opening of Kanye Ministers Fraternal year on February 9.

He said government had made intentional provisions for religious organisations to play their role and help mould the nation.

Provisions that were provided for in Vision 2036 included the need for people to have freedom of worship as well as importance of faith to an individual and the nation at large.

 He said after assuming office, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi met with spiritual leaders to open dialogue and strengthen the relationship between government and religious organisations. 

He said this was due to the fact that government understood importance of the spiritual wellbeing of its people.

However, the deputy permanent secretary called on churches to unite to serve their purpose so that peace and tranquillity could continue to reign in Botswana.

“Faith-based organisations play a significant role in our society, which is why the role of pastors is not only to preach but also to interprete the word of God so that it can have a positive impact on people thereby shaping the nation,” Mr Phiri said.

He encouraged churches to put aside differences and unite under umbrella bodies such as the Ministers Fraternal for their mandate to be successful. 

Mr Phiri urged religious organisations to collaborate with government in addressing challenges such as divorce, unemployment, road accidents and social ills.

He also encouraged them to take advantage of the on-going supplementary registration for the national election scheduled for this year. 

“Please go and register because it is your right to vote and that vote helps to build the nation.”

Former Kanye Ministers Fraternal deputy chairperson, Reverend Alogeng Letebele said even though they appreciated government’s support to religious organisations, they were still faced with shortage of church plots.

He said as non-profit making organisations, they did not have the means to compete with commercial entities for business plots. 

He pleaded with the government to consider allocating free plots to organisations such as Ministers Fraternal so that they could effectively deliver on their mandate.

For his part, Reverend Okathusa Porati-Mashabane of Apostolic Faith Mission said even though they acknowledge that there were churches which had turned into businesses, special dispensation should be made to allocate churches plots of worship. 

He said said congregants should live to please God so that they could become great counsellors who could help government curb social-ills. ENDS