via You risk being cursed, Chikukwa warns media | The Zimbabwean 30.10.13 by Farai Mabeza
The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs for Harare Province, Miriam Chikukwa, last week stunned members of the media with a warning that they risked being cursed if they lied when reporting on matters linked to religion.
Chikukwa was giving a vote of thanks at a press conference called by Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi on religious tourism after hosting a visiting Kenyan bishop, Climate Irungu.
Chikukwa a senior pastor at Irungu’s church, surprised journalists by saying: “When you report about religious issues, I warn you never lie about what concerns God because the curse that will be smeared on you will be (there) forever. The Bible says ‘touch not my anointed’.”
“Where did that come from?” one journalist quipped afterwards. Mzembi had his own surprises, saying: “When I finish my mandate in 2018, the legacy I want to leave is that I planted more churches than pubs.” He urged journalists to regard their jobs as a calling. The minister said he saw religion as one of the main tourism drivers in Zimbabwe as it contributed $18 billion to the global market annually. “In the past, we knew of leisure tourism but religion is set to become one of the major branches alongside health and sporting tourism,” he said.
He said annual gatherings that included the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God’s Africa prayer mountain in Bindura, the United Families International of Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa and pilgrimages by Anglicans to Bernard Mizeki shrine near Marondera would generate significant revenue inflows to the fiscus. These activities boosted the hospitality and transport sectors significantly, he said, and should be registered for taxation.
COMMENTS
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs for Harare Province, Jobs for mates??
While we sometimes see images of white people being brutally attacked by ZANU PF activists removing them from farms and other businesses, we should also remember Mugabe has a penchant of lashing out at fellow black people. There is clearly no suggestion that Mugabe is committed to free campaigns in the run up to next year elections. From headlines of police arresting civil society activists, student activists, journalists and unlawful detention and intimidation of citizens, it would be folly-hardy to believe that Mugabe is a peaceful man. Unless all ZANU PF leaders publicly condone violence and take responsibility for the actions of their activists, Zimbabweans will forever live with scars that have been with them in all election periods in Zimbabwe. It is then safe to say Mugabe cares less about his fellow black citizens as much as he does to people of different skin colour.
@BossMyass Police arresting violent youths in illegal protests really is not a case against Mugabe. Rather it illustrates the violence and irresponsibility of the youth and opposition.
Simply put if they had no permission they shouldn’t be there and we would not have to waste public funds acting as parents to them because their parents didn’t teach them respect for the law or responsibility. The police were simply doing their job protecting the right thinking law abiding hard working citizens from irresponsible youths.
In one demonstration by university students on second street I witness an elderly lady screaming being dragged out of her vehicle and kicked on the ground because she tried to negotiate her car out of the demonstration on to Samora Machel.
This kind of thing made the need for laws to protect us, very necessary.
Of course those with no respect resultant of bad parenting/lack of discipline, no smacked bottoms, wont understand unless they are jailed or injured themselves, sadly a very real problem in Zimbabwe