29 Dec 2013

Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi has commended Alpha Fire Ministries for donating to the less privileged members of society.

Mr Masisi was speaking during the handover of food hampers, toiletries, blankets and clothes worth over P30 000 to some Sese families recently. Mr Masisi noted that the donation complemented government’s vision and goal of improving the lives of citizens.

He said with such donations, the church was not only following what is written in the Bible, but also contributing towards the President’s 5Ds roadmap, particularly dignity. He said government highly respected religious organisations despite challenges facing churches, amongst them land shortage.

All religious organisations, he added, continued to enjoy protection from government as long as they operated within the law. He noted that churches were doing a great job by promoting peace and order within communities, thus government would continue extending its support.

Furthermore, Mr Masisi said since Christmas was a time for celebrating the birth of Jesus, it was befitting that the celebrations held within the same period should be in line with the Christmas theme.

Thus, he urged recipients to take time to introspect on their lives as individuals and see if they were living the life stipulated in the Bible.

Member of Parliament for Jwaneng/Mabutsane, Mr Mephato Reatile said Alpha Fire Ministries needed to be applauded for teaching young people the good way of life, something which he said would immensely contribute to crime reduction in the country.

“If more young people could follow the church’s teachings, then eventually crime rates would go down and Botswana would be a peaceful country,” he said.

He encouraged them to continue spreading the gospel even outside the borders of Botswana so that a lot of people could be saved. Speaking on behalf of Alpha Fire Ministries, Apostle Patrick Sejeso noted that as a church, they did not only focus on spreading the word of God, but also aimed to help the under privileged members of society.

He said since Christmas was the time for giving, they decided to organise annual events to give back to different communities each year. He however lamented that shortage of land was a big challenge for churches, saying that they were forced to move from one place to the other from time to time.

He appealed to government to look at the issue so that churches could be more effective and do more than what they were currently doing. ENDS