A group of pastors has come out to distance its self from the pastors who are calling for the exit of the Minister of Ethics and Integrity over regulation of churches.
Pastors Martin Sempa and Michael Kyazze have stated that unlike their colleagues who are against regulation, they welcome the policy though not in its current format.
“By threatening to pass the policy in its current form, government is only seeking to have born-again churches kneel for it. This often happens whenever elections are around the corner. It has been happening since 2004 but this time we are not ready to succumb to such threats. If they claim their main motive of regulating Pentecostal churches is because they are exploiting the masses, is it only happening in churches? Don’t we have it in government or elsewhere? But how many times has government come out to regulate them?” Kyazze rapped.
He advised that instead of regulating the church, they should just prosecute the wrongdoers like it is often done with government institutions.
“Ironically, they (government) say the new policy is aimed at fighting wrongs in churches but whenever we show them the wrongdoers in church, we are often ignored. They instead go to these churches to promote them.”
Commenting on the matter, Pastor Sempa was quick to clarify that they are not part of their colleagues calling for the firing of Fr Lokodo over the policy.
“For us we are calling for thorough consultations before the policy comes into existence but we are not against it. Actually we welcome it for it is good for the church,” said Sempa.
The new policy will also seek to enforce transparency and financial accountability in religious and faith based institution in the country.
The new policy will among other things require anyone starting up a church to follow a formal procedure.
One will be required to have a degree in Theology and the person will, among other things, be required to declare their source of income, whether locally and internationally sourced.
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