Former Special Assistant to the President for Policy Implementation and Monitoring Jack Kalala says the National Day of Prayer, Repentance, Fasting and Reconciliation is a political stunt intended to hoodwink Zambians.

In a statement, Tuesday, Kalala argued that the Prayer Day, slated for this Friday, did not amount to anything tangible, and that the chances of God answering any of the prayers were unlikely.

“As we approach the so-called National Day of Prayer, let it be stated that the declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation, and the Day of Prayer, Repentance, Fasting and Reconciliation are mere political stunts intended to gain popularity and hoodwinking people into slumberland. In reality, they do not amount to anything, but hollow declaration and futile exercises. They add no value to our national wellbeing and do not contribute to solving any of the problems our country is facing or making Zambia a better country for all its people and in the sight of God,” Kalala stated.

“Not to sound as a judge: this whole thing is a sham to hoodwink unsuspecting people to make political capital out of it. With top national leaders instigating violence against their perceived political enemies and those who disagree with them, chances of God answering these national prayers, led by such leaders are most unlikely. Instead of wasting time on such a futile exercise, we should just focus on purposeful actions towards national reconstruction and development. National Prayer Day, in its current form, is nothing but a partisan event and not a uniting factor, as its hidden purpose is to campaign for PF.”

Kalala insisted that it was fantasy to believe that by merely chanting God’s name and uttering meaningless chants, the country would be developed.

He instead called on Zambians to do what was pleasant in the sight of God.

“Let us do the right things that are pleasant in the sight of God. Let us love our neighbour as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). Let’s do unto others, as we would like them to do unto us (Luke 6:31). Let’s end corruption, tribalism, self-serving, lies, shedding blood of innocent people, political violence, laziness, grabbing of other people’s properties and injustice in our courts of law. Let’s stop stealing votes, public resources and from the poor,” he urged.

“Let’s stop abusing public offices for personal gain. Let’s stop abusing other people’s rights. Instead, let’s be honest. Let’s work hard for the common good and serve with integrity and humility. It is foolish naivety and fantasy to believe that by merely chanting God’s name and uttering meaningless chants, development will come to our country, jobs will be created and wealth will drop from heaven like manna and poverty will vanish in thin air; and that reconciliation among us will miraculously be possible without us meeting to talk to each other.”

And he called for the weeding out of incompetent political party cadres from the country’s governance system and the foreign service.

“For us to transform our country from poverty to prosperity, we need to take positive and transformative actions. As a starting point, we need to deal with leadership. Taking advantage of our democratic dispensation, we need to put in place a leadership that is visionary, knowledgeable, patriotic, credible and committed to the promotion of national unity and interests and not selfish personal or partisan agendas. We need a leadership of men and women of integrity with impeccable track records and reputation, which is ready to sacrifice and use national resources prudently for the sake of national development,” stated Kalala.

“This should include policy initiators and implementers in the public service who must be truly professional in their conduct and performance of duty. This calls for weeding out unproductive, wasteful and incompetent political cadres from the governance system, including the foreign service that is replete with useless party cadres! The initial task of this team of capable men and women should be institutional transformation to make them competent to meet the daunting tasks to rebuild and develop our country. They should be able to harness the available resources and potential, encourage technological innovation, invest in people – especially the youth and women – and mobilize talents and skills of individuals for economic and social development of our nation.”