We need peer review mechanism for churches: CRL

The Commission for Promotions and Protection of the Rights of Religious‚ Cultural and Linguistic Communities (CRL) has proposed that churches need to fall under a regulatory body.

“We are looking at a peer review mechanism. We are saying we need to establish a system where we can have a peer review‚ not state review‚” said chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.

 “Social workers have their own‚ lawyers have their own. Everybody has a self-peer review mechanism. If you do anything out of the ordinary‚ your peers‚ not the state [must take action] people who can say this is normal this is not.”

Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said there was no currently law or regulation which oversees the conduct of religious leaders in the country. This‚ she said‚ allowed people to do whatever they liked in communities without any accountability.

The CRL has also recommended that church leaders should posses some basic organisational skills to help would help with the improvement of church administration and reduce the prevalence of misuse of funds.

It said that about 70% of churches and religious formations in the country are not complying with laws.

Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said that many churches were not registered as public benefit organisations with the South African Revenue Service.

Furthermore‚ churches did not have proper governance structures and financial management systems in place. Some did not have proper bank accounts or compile annual reports.

Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the commission’s findings also showed that there was substantial vulnerability among communities which needed urgent attention.

“It is serious stuff...when a person believes that a rat will give them R6-million‚” said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva‚ who added that the commission will later this month approach sociologists and psychologists to obtain scientific opinion on the vulnerability of people.

In August 2015‚ the commission undertook an investigative study into the commercialisation of religion and the abuse of peoples’ belief systems following an exposé of a Pretoria church where people were fed snakes.

Among the church leaders who appeared before the commission was the “snake pastor”‚ Penuel Mnguni‚ who also fed his followers hair‚ cloths‚ rats‚ ants and carpet.

His close friend‚ Pastor Lesego Daniels‚ who is known for feeding people grass‚ leaves and petrol‚ also appeared. The pair told the commission that they were instructed by God to feed people all these things‚ and added that that no one had died.

Mnguni was kicked out of Pretoria and started operating in Siyabuswa‚ Mpumalanga‚ where he took the “demonstration of the power of God” to the extreme and allegedly drove a car over two congregants. He claimed they did not suffer any injuries and were alive.

– TMG Digital