KARONGA MAY 17, 2016(CISA)-Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of the Catholic Diocese of Karonga has warned those who plunder church resources that they will be arrested and prosecuted.
“I am very concerned with the resource mismanagement reports in my Diocese. This is because we used to have mercy and forgiveness to the perpetrators,” Bishop Mtumbuka told Malawi’s Nyasa Times May 16.
In order to end it, added the prelate “any leader or follower found stealing the Church’s resources starting from 1 January, 2017 shall be taken to the court of law where they will be answerable.” Bishop Mtumbuka’s reaction follows the increase of abuse of church resources in Karonga Diocese which he confided to be a result of forgiving tendency to the perpetrators.
He said some people take an advantage of the Church’s act of forgiveness as stated in the holy bible to deliberately abuse their powers. He noted that the tendency of stealing the Church’s resources is letting down the people’s will to contribute.
Bishop Mtumbuka who is the newly appointed board chairperson of the think tank Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) also called on the government to ensure reduction of inequality and poverty, and promoting equity among the citizens.
He noted that the widening income gap between the rich and poor “has highlighted the need to understand the causes of relative inequality and poverty, and to construct suitable policies to reduce poverty and narrow the income gap.”
“The country’s economists including MEJN should work towards eradicating poverty in the country by ensuring that government economic policies are inclusive and that are indeed reducing economic hardships of Malawians particularly the marginalized,” he said.
He called for “equal opportunities” for all Malawians and not for the “selected few adding that many Malawians still live in dire poverty.
