PF Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri says the PF and government would only implement resolutions of the dialogue process that they would be part of.

In an interview, Mumbi advised that the three Church mother bodies can continue with the “spiritual healing” as ZCID implements the political dialogue following resolutions that were made by political parties in Siavonga last year.

She reminded stakeholders that all political parties including the UPND were signatories to the Siavonga resolutions and hence the UPND should also abide.

“I am the party’s representative on the ZCID board and I would like to wish the dialogue process, which has been started by the Church, success. And as they have rightly put it, they have spiritual obligation to reconcile whoever they feel should be reconciled. But us, as political parties under ZCID, we already had about four resolutions that we are going to stick to political parties, which include the Public Order Act, the electoral reforms, among others,” Mumbi said.

“I think we were even going ahead with our programme as per communique, which we signed in Siavonga as political parties, and when we talk as political parties, we shall implement these resolutions as political parties. But for the Church, the process has already started and we wish them the best. We wouldn’t also want it to fail because they are also doing their thing, but for them to force us to say we should implement what they will discuss, no! We will implement what we will be part of.”

She said the church-led dialogue should be regarded as a national reconciliation prayer.

“Mr. Mucheleka and his party (UPND) are not even the right people to talk about the Church and ZCID concerning dialogue, because the UPND is a signatory to the resolutions of the Siavonga Summit. What we agreed on as political parties in Siavonga must be followed and the political dialogue that ZCID has been advocating for will go on, while the Church conducts the national reconciliation and prayers,” she added.

She, however, explained that the PF was not undermining the Church over the dialogue process.

“I am a Catholic and my body is a temple of Christ. And people should define a church; I am a body of Christ and I am a church, I am a Catholic and I cannot undermine any person who is ordained to lead the Church and to preach the Gospel to people. I can see political parties meeting and discussing issues to do with political parties under the ZCID, those who need spiritual healing they can go to church. I am at peace; spiritual healing is an individual thing, it is not collective and no one should be forced! We are ready for the Church and you know, the Church was invited to chair the dialogue process and as ZCID, we had the semantics which we were supposed to follow,” explained Mumbi.