Several churches in Livingstone have expressed concern with the K300 charge for hosting overnight prayers and crusades by the city council.
Abundant Life Church founder, Rev Wellington Mbulwe says the decision by the Livingstone city council to charge K300 is too much.
Rev. Mbulwe says the charge is prohibitive for churches to minister the word of God, adding that some churches are not able to raise the amount.
Rev. Mbulwe further observed that churches were nonprofit making while most congregants were not in employment to help raise the money.
He has appealed to the local authority to reduce the charge to a reasonable amount to enable more churches carryout God’s work.
And Livingstone’s Worship expression assembly church reverend, Michael Zulu has also condemned the move by the council.
Rev. Zulu said that the authority was hampering government’s policy of enhancing Zambia as a Christian nation.
And Christian harvest international overseer, Boston Simusamba has urged the city council to reverse the decision as it is not in the spirit of Christianity.
Council public relations manager, Melvin Mukela said that the charged money will be directed towards stationary to issue permits and fuel costs to monitor gatherings.
Come on , some of you churches, you like freebies too much. You collect millions from your congregation and make miracles happen and you can’t afford a ka 300 kwacha sure? I think the council should feel ashamed of themselves for charging 300 kwacha. They should have charged them K 5000. It takes a lot to provide security to these gathering and also do the clean up after the event. We need to keep our cities clean. Prayers don’t clean the city neither do they pay for those expenses to manage such events. Christian nation does not mean communist nation!!!
BUT WHERE DO YOU THINK THE COUNCILS WILL BE GETTING MONEY FOR COMPENSATING RESIDENTS WHENEVER THEY ARE SUED FOR AIR POLUTION AND PUBLIC NUISANCE. PEOPLE DO NOT NEED TO BE DISTURBED BY THE NOISE COMING FROM THOSE OVERNIGHT PRAYERS WHICH YIELD NOTHING BUT UN WANTED ADULTERY AND PREGNANCIES. MOREOVER CHURCHES COLLECT A LOT OF MONEY FROM SUCH GATHERINGS AND SO SOME OF IT SHOULD END UP IN PUBLIC COFFERS FOR VARIOUS MANUCIPAL EXPENSES. I FULLY SUPPORT THE COUNCILS AND THEY SHOULDN’T WITHDRAW UNDER POLITICISED DURACE. COUNCILS NEED TO RUN EFFICIENTLY AND THAT CAN ONLY POSSIBLE BY LEVYING SUCH PUBLIC NUISANCE OFFENDERS.
When did Christianity and religion in general started to be monitored by the government in Zambia? Are you going to monitor Muslims who go to the Mosque at 5am? How about the Lodges where Freemasons meet?
Some churches conduct church services at funeral houses in the evening, how much will they pay?
go to hell a rim of 500 papers costs K55 making, printing one copy costs K10. from Chinese road contracts to churches guys mukayapya
CHRISTIAN NATION INDEED. WHAT IS THE MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS GOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS? ZAMBIANS WHAT ARE WE LETTING OUR ONCE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY SLIP INTO. VERY SAD INDEED. NOW WE HAVE TO PAY TO PRAY IN OUR CHURCHES.
Infact the cjarge is too little. It should be cost effective, councils should charge more.
The Zambian councils just know how to charge but no services. Look at the abundant unserviced new residential areas. Mitengo residential area in Ndola has been there for over 12 years with no proper roads. The Kansenshi Infill is also another residential area and there are many in Ndola, Kitwe and Lusaka. Yet the Council want to collect Land rates for places where there are no roads and no running water. Useless administrations who want to reap where they have not sown.
When they make town roads they are without laybys where there is a bus station. Useless, incompetent greedy RATS IN POTS.
I dont agree with any charge on the churches , churches are charities who work voluntarily to up lift the lives of the vulnerable persons in society.
What the council want to do is very un wise you dont charge people for praying for you it is ridiculous where on earth , in some countries churches are paid by governments because they look after communities who would have been a burden to the councils .
I just wonder how zambians see churches the churches contribute greatly by not only praying for you but also promote peace in the nation , don not promote evil by stopping churches to help you .
The charge is even much lower compared to the noise pollution these false worshippers emit? Why cant they worship during the day and avoid the tax?
There’s a misunderstanding here. The charge is not for prayers. Anyway event going beyond midnight is charged a certain amount. …be it a dico or overnight prayers. This excludes hotels who have license to operate 24hrs.
In the early days of Zambian independence bars and restaurants had to pay for the intellectual property rights for them to play musical records. The law was strictly enforced. You were not allowed to hawk any merchandise without a license and you were not allowed to buy from the wholesale without this license. Even bicycles had to be licensed. It’s from these taxes that government used to raise money. But today everyone is too lazy and too corrupt to carry out these duties diligently with honesty. It’s all political.
Complaining about K300! Pastor Bushiri help these misers.
Do they hold overnight prayers everyday or it’s just a once in a while event?
Then you should stop this nonsense of overnight prayers!!
300 kwacha only? You must be joking. These so called churches disturb our sleep, harbour thieves. Guys get a life for once and stop disturbing us during nights. If you have funerals you bring all sorts of instruments and start making noise all night and you want to be charged 300. Churches are a nuisance to society these days. Can we bring back old good days of noble doctrine. Merry Christmas to all non noise makers.
These church guys are so quick to quote a bible whenever they are confronted with a situation…when Jesus was asked about Tax..he asked for a coin of which he asked whose portrait was on the coin…Give the king what belong to the king…let them just pay…
k300 is nothing to churches where i go at st Anthony of Padua Parish in Ndola they charge for wedding and funerals to their members and every small christian community is told to pay k8000 per year so what is k300 to complain about. Council should even increase the amount.