"See, the Lord is making the earth waste and unpeopled, he is turning it upside down, and sending the people in all directions. And it will be the same for the people as for the priest; for the servant as for his master; and for the woman-servant as for her owner; the same for the one offering goods for a price as for him who takes them; the same for him who gives money at interest and for him who takes it; the same for him who lets others have the use of his property as for those who make use of it. The earth will be completely waste and without men; for this is the word of the Lord".
- Zimbabwe and the whole world are experiencing the scourge and affliction of COVID-19 none have been spared; the rich and the poor, the mighty and the powerless. The Church in Zimbabwe and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe(EFZ)in particular has set aside 90 Days of Prayer. These 90 Days of Prayer have given the Church in Zimbabwe an opportunity to reflect, introspect and repent regarding the state of the Church, the nation and the collective narrative and legacy that we have built and will bestow to our children. They have also given the Church the opportunity to pray for the recovery and restoration of Zimbabwe from COVID-19, an ailing economy and a toxic and uncertain political state of affairs. None has been spared as Isaiah 24:1-3 states.
- Regrettably the number of COVID-19 cases have continued to rise, partly due to the predictable inability of ordinary Zimbabweans to observe social distancing, sanitization and washing of hands due to the peculiar socio-economic conditions that are prevailing in our country, in particular, the fact that the vast number of Zimbabweans are in informal employment and any restriction to movement or engagement in daily enterprise has a direct and immediate significant impact on their livelihoods and their families. This has forced many to risk life and limb in the face of COVID-19 and other risks, in-order to put food on their tables and keep soul and body together. Corruption, poor service delivery, drought and other extraneous factors have not helped the situation. We are now reaping the fruit of the convergence of these unfortunate circumstances.
- It is these hard and harsh circumstances and choices that have created a restive and restless populace, that has no hope to effectively fight COVID-19, no hope to effectively survive or let alone revive the economy much less a locked-down economy, while the privileged few gorge themselves at the table of corruption.
- It is these underlying causes that are giving birth to general sense of frustration and agitation and the potentially explosive and risk-laden call for mass action on the 31stof July. As the Church we believe that this potentially explosive confrontation can and should be avoided by addressing the root causes through engagement, dialogue and collective responsibility to transform our nation and build the Zimbabwe we all want. Without this, the arrest and detention of individuals may deflect or delay the rising momentum of desperation and frustration, but will be futile if it does not deal with the underlying pressures and tensions caused by the prevailing socio-economic and political conditions.
- While the reset of more strident and stringent conditions for the new lockdown are understandable and even laudable, it calls to the same authorities to press for a reset process in order to bring our economy, politics and corruption pandemics under control so that ordinary citizens are not exposed to the risk of death by COVID-19 or death by hunger, poverty or poor health delivery institutions.
- We call upon all political and government leaders to find the same resolve and response to the socio-economic and political pandemic that has haunted Zimbabwe longer than COVID-19. We call for national engagement, dialogue and collective responsibility for we all have been affected by all the challenges that face Zimbabwe.
- We call upon our police and military to act with restraint and respect the meager and few remaining freedoms that people still possess; the least of these being the right to human dignity.
- We call upon all Zimbabweans, locally and abroad to protect their own lives and those of loved ones and all those connected to them by doing their vigilant uttermost to observe COVID-19 guidelines, to wash their hands regularly, sanitise, wear a mask and observe social distancing at all times.
- We continue to call upon Almighty God to bring full and complete restoration to Zimbabwe. May God restore His people and heal our land.
BY ORDER OF THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE