Friday, March 29, 2024

Catholic Bishops defend Mall Construction, We need resources for better education

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Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting
Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) on the proposed construction of the shopping Mall near St. Mary’s High school in Lusaka has been held with the Catholic Bishops reiterating that the revenue from the project will help support the Catholic Church continue offering better education in Zambia.

Speaking on behalf of Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) President Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, ZCCB Secretary General Fr. Cleophas Lungu said the church wants to move into integral evangelisation.

“The church wants to move quickly, towards an integral evangelisation. It will continue to support education, health programmes and apostolates, continue to its pastoral programs but in order to do all these church needs money,” Fr. Lungu said.

Fr. Lungu said the Church has continued to contribute to the development of the nation through many sectors of which schools run by the Catholic Church continue to record high passing rates.

“The average performance of Catholic schools in the just release grade 12 results in all dioceses was over 75%,” he noted.

Fr. Lungu emphasised that to maintain such good results the Church needs money.

“The missionaries came with money. The help to the church from Europe or America has reduced. 125 years later, the inflow of support in the missionary land like Zambia is very little. We are very grateful for the support we receive, but I am here also to challenge ourselves as Catholics. How much are we supporting our institutions,” the ZCCB Secretary General said.

He said the dwindling resource has prompted the Bishops find alternative sources of income to support education and other projects they are involved in.

“The Church wants to find resources that can be ploughed back into other schools. St. Mary’s is lucky because it is surrounded by people who can afford. The Bishops want to support other Catholic education institutions from the resources that shall be realised from such venture,” he emphasised.

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) held St. Mary’s High school on 4th February, 2017 attracted parents, civil society organisations and other interested parties.

Parents have expressed reservations to the construction of a Shopping Mall near St. Mary’s Girls High school for fear that it will have a negative social-moral impact on the girl child education.

The public hearing on the Environmental and Social Impact was organised by Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to get views from the public on the proposed construction of a Shopping Mall on a vacant Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) land near St. Mary’s High School.

The Catholic Bishops of Zambia have proposed to lease land to a developer who plans to build a shopping mall on the said land.

Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting
Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting
Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting
Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting
Attendees at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment meeting

34 COMMENTS

  1. A shopping mall next to a school for girls? Then you complain and say its the govt? The bishops themselves have sanctioned this mall! Don’t come blaming the govt when the girls go astray.

    • Bane if you’re not happy with what the Catholics want to do with their land, simply move your children to other schools, it’s that simple!

    • That’s up to the parents to raise their kids right not the school. The most dangerous thing to a young is you men who exploit them not a shopping mall!

    • If I had the chance I would advise the Bishops to put up some “mixed-use developments” that is high rise buildings with 1st floor shopping mall, 2nd floor rental offices, then 3rd and upwards housing units- at least 500 housing units of various sizes. Minimum 14 floors each building, that way you have mall customers from within the premises.
      Malls are a thing of the past Now, online shopping is fast taking over and killing shopping malls. We have to be strategic thinkers now.

    • Like Jews , Catholics are not christian .

      In Zambia because of ignorance Catholics are regarded as christian.

      Please do your own research.

    • DO THESE BISHOP THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF THEY HAVE SAID? MONEY IS MORE IMPORTANT TO THEM THAN CHRISTIAN AND MORAL VALUES. WHAT WILL STOP CHRISTIAN WOMEN TO BITCH AROUND TO RAISE MONEY FOR THEIR SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN? NO WONDER MOST CORRUPT PUBLIC WORKERS ARE CATHOLICS. THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS.

    • DO THESE GOOD FOR NOTHING BISHOPS REALIZE THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF WHAT THEY HAVE SAID IS GOING TO HAVE AMONG THE FLOCK?………..

  2. Why dont they build the mall in the proposed tabernacle Matthew 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.'”

    • In Europe they are among the biggest Property owners..unfortunately the people there are not docile like Afrikans and this generation do not believe in their rubbish hence the church attendance have reduced and most churches are believe sold or leased out Islamic Institutions as mosques.

  3. “The missionaries came with money. The help to the church from Europe or America has reduced. 125 years later, the inflow of support in the missionary land like Zambia is very little. We are very grateful for the support we receive, but I am here also to challenge ourselves as Catholics. How much are we supporting our institutions,” the ZCCB Secretary General said.

    That’s because the missionaries job is complete …why should the continue funding you when you their slaves are now more overdosed with their bible and fake religion. Any black person who is a catholic does not know their history.

    Wake up from your folly!!

    • @ba Dr. Jay Jay, too much uku ponta.
      -That small island you live on(England) and Europe was belt by our Christian brethren. In fact you are living there because of ‘their’ God’s grace.
      -Your British flag has 3 holy crosses
      -Your British national anthem says… ‘God Save the Queen’.
      – Even the US dollar (currency) says ‘In God we trust’.
      – Most national flags in Europe are marked by the ‘holy cross’
      -If it weren’t for Christianity you would have been an illiterate soul or the biggest empty tin with no ‘sound’.
      -Your Southern Province is dotted with missionary schools and hospitals-most of your relatives are beneficiaries.
      Please have respect for people’s faith.

    • If you don’t believe in what others believe in it’s better to leave them alone instead of issuing derogatory words. There are people who don’t believe in marriage and that’s their choice and personally I wouldn’t interfere with them unless they offended me.

  4. Leave our daughters to grow before temptations. Pope square is the place, can even include hotels and other issues bishops enjoy.

  5. These Catholics are the same pipo who asked us to abandon our anscestaral African Gods in preference to their white Jesus with long hair and a hooked PINK nose.

    They came into our African neighbourhood and built thousands of churches amid, collecting billions of dollars from our parents over time which they banked (and still do) in their mudzungu Banks today. Just what kind of pipo are we mwebantu thus, even declaring our mother land as a Christian nation? Shame on us, let the Chinese take over Zambia now.

  6. ….Yes l am MAD with our downright stupidity and idiosyncrasies. For God’s sake (our African God), can’t we SEE that this is a money making venture from these Catholics?

  7. This is just a ZEMA public hearing and i believe an agreement has not been reached. Legally, the Catholics have the right to lease their land NOVARE. However, it is socially and morally wrong to have a shopping mall within the vicinity of a school despite proposed mitigating measures. If ZEMA gives a go ahead, civil society in partnership with the community will file in an injunction to block any construction.

  8. What morality can these catholic bishops talk about now,if not sanctioning such controversial projects,then they are busy sneaking into political corridors prostituting with politicians.

  9. This what happens when the light ceases to shine. The Catholic Church is in darkness. The leaders are blinded by the love of money. They would do anything to earn a few pieces of silver. The leadership of the Church has become morally bankrupt.

  10. For this reason I have enrolled my daughter at a different school but still catholic behind the US embassy. Bad decision Bishop’s, you have chosen vanity over good morals. Very disappointing and pathetic. Why not just sell off the entire school then so that you can even get more money for yourselves. So it doesn’t matter the source of income so long its an income…..,great going!

  11. who will be the owners after constructing a Shopping Mall on a vacant Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) land near St. Mary’s High School?

  12. It’s the responsibility of parents to rise their children in an acceptable manner. What about East Park mall at UNZA, what negative impact does it have to the learners?

  13. The mall is not going to be built on top of your girls. I have seen schools being run right inside the mall and the kids behavior & academic grades were excellent. Stop blaming wrong causes for immorality.

  14. Are those opposing this mall aware that there is new mall in Kabulonga on land owned by the Anglican Church less than 100 metres from Kabulonga Girls High School. As a frequent user of this mall, I hardly ever see multitudes of school girls there. So what is this fuss all about? If school girls misbehave, isn’t there a role parents can play rather than blame it on the presence of a mall in an area?

  15. Catholic schools are among the most expensive schools in the country, so who the Bishops trying to help? They want to compete with like of Bushili and TBJ?

  16. Are we talking about morality or economical or social issue.

    The issue here is environment. Issue like sound pollution. Traffic pollution. And litter.

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