Finally the Church has come to its senses

We applaud the Botswana Christian Council ( BCC) for finally coming to its senses and committing to advocate for the poor and downtrodden of our people against the excesses and caprices of the rich and powerful.

Although it remains the country’s breadbasket, the extractive industry replete with its mining companies has proven over time to be both a blessing and a curse especially to communities where these natural resources are mined.

During the initial consultative stages, the mining companies present the face of compassionate caring corporate bodies with promises to honour the findings of their Environmental Impact Assessment ( EIA) studies.

But lo and behold, once they have been awarded the licences to mine the minerals, they present their sinister side, the face of capital, profit and indifference.

Worse still once they have mined the minerals to near exhaustion, they dump the area, leaving behind open burrows and pits that pose a danger not only to humans, but also to domestic and wild animals.

The mining companies make huge profits by extracting these resources that are abound in communal areas but rarely ever give back in terms of meaningful social corporate responsibility. They don’t build schools, hospitals or clinics.

Neither do they create foundations to sponsor ace students from the communities in which they operate, let alone sponsor sporting teams in the communities in which they operate. If anything, they only honour their tax obligations to government!

Now that the Church has realised this injustice meted out to Batswana by foreign mining companies operating in the country, we urge it to do its Christian duty to defend to the hilt, the rights of the wretched of the earth.

For too long, the Church has been aloof even as the country burnt.

We have had the standoff between the President and his predecessor threatening the peace and tranquil that this country is renowned for, yet we never heard even a murmur from the Church!

In the midst of COVID- 19, many people have lost their jobs. Some have been fired at the drop of a hat under the guise of pandemic-induced hardships.

During lockdowns, some families have suffered the full brunt of domestic violence as mean men turned on their wives and children.

Even as the social and moral fabric of the society degenerates daily, the voice of the Church has been muted. The reason is obvious.

The Church, especially the organised groups that claim to advocate for faith- based organisations are, to put it bluntly, politically captured.

At best they are extensions and agents of the ruling party. If this is not true, now is the time for these associations to prove us wrong by taking their rightful positions as the nation’s Moral Compass to speak out on all the vices, such as corruption, greed, GBV, child abuse and others that bedevil our nation.

We challenge the Church to be independent, to speak fearlessly against injustice, careful at all times to represent the will of the people, in the full knowledge of the Latin maxim that, ‘ Vox Populi, Vox Dei’ – that is, The Voice of the People is the Voice of God.

Finally, we plead with the Church to separate itself from political affiliation. It is near impossible for political party functionaries to wear the hat of a politician who bashes his enemies at a political rally on Saturday and the next day to wear the hat of a clergyman, who teaches the laity about love and piety!

Let this be food for thought for the Church as it reawakens to its senses.