PM GIVES 4 ADVANTAGES OF OPENING CHURCHES

LOBAMBA – Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini says the opening of Sunday church worship would benefit the Ministry of Health in that it would also act as a door-to-door screening campaign.

Listing the four advantages of church meetings, the PM said if people went to church, the door-to-door screening campaign would identify the infected, which would then add to the effort of limiting transmission and that the infected could be traced through the registration record.

The PM made these statements through a report which he tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday following a motion passed by MPs last week calling for the PM to justify why church attendance numbers had been increased to 70 congregants.

However, at the moment, church gatherings like all others are limited to 20 people and regulations to amend these are expected to be tabled in the House of Assembly tomorrow, according to Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo.

Responses

In the written responses to Motion 06/2020, Dlamini said another advantage of church meetings would be that the Bible states that Christians should meet for fellowship.

He cited Hebrews 10:25, which states that; “Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

Pray

Dlamini further stated that Christians should meet and pray for God’s intervention as the nation grappled with the pandemic. On that point, the PM cited 2 Chronicles 7:14, which states that there was power in corporate prayer.
The PM further said the economy could dwindle and be resuscitated as it happened after the 1929 Depression, ‘but when a person dies he cannot be brought back to life’.

“So, Christians have a responsibility to minister to the soul through Sunday worship, whether there is COVID-19 or not,” he said.
The MPs had called to order the Minister of Home Affairs. Princess Lindiwe, for issuing two conflicting statements when in the first instance she said churches should have a 70 per cent occupancy and later changed it to at least 70 people.

Announcement

The PM clarified yesterday that the announcement made by Princess Lindiwe on the opening of faith-based and other public gatherings was a Cabinet decision.

He said churches and places of worship were allowed to conduct services, which should not exceed two hours and should not be held at night.
However, it remains to be seen if the legislators and Cabinet will reach common ground on this matter.

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