TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Churches Council of Africa (CCA) is appealing to government and local authorities to avail land at affordable prices to indigenous churches to operate from as most of them are worshiping under trees.
Last year, Bulawayo City Council (BCC) announced plans to remove several illegal churches that operate in bushes within the city for not adhering to the local authority’s standards.
“We have a very big challenge when it comes to the issue of land as churches.All the local authorities in the country demand a lot of money. They give land to those with money. They no longer follow the protocol or if I may say the way they used to, where someone would be placed on the waiting list and later be given a stand,” founder and president of CCA, bishop Rocky Moyo said.
Moyo said corruption cases are rising within local authorities.
“The issue of land is a critical one. The majority of indigenous churches have applied for stands in their respective local authorities. They are not getting anything as some waited for more than five years now.
“So as an organization we do not want that because that’s corruption. They should act in a professional manner,” Moyo said.
He added :”However some churches lie that they have money whilst up to date they have not built a church on the land. But that won’t stop us from advocating that people should be given stands in a proper way. We want it to end. Churches should be given places to worship by these local authorities.”
