ANC, IFP, EFF ask for church's help in nation building

Political leaders have emphasised the important role of the church in nation building as the Easter weekend comes to a close.

In KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday, leaders from the ANC, IFP and EFF gathered at the Covenant Fellowship Church International outside Empangeni for a Passover service.

They called for the church to work together with the government towards nation building.

Mayor Xolani Ngwezi said though South Africa was a secular state, its liberation from apartheid was rooted in the church which still had a role to play in building a democratic South Africa.

“I request that the church must not withdraw from the activities of the national democratic revolution because the oldest movement in Africa, the ANC, was established in a church.

“The church cannot be a spectator in nation building. Today we are not here to campaign but to urge all of us to go out and vote,” he said.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula echoed Ngwezi's sentiments, adding that unlike political leaders, the church was always a consistent source of guidance for communities.

“We have an obligation to support and work with the church because if the church is standing, the nation is standing and that's how you build a nation,” Mbalula said.

The EFF's Marshall Dlamini asked for prayers to drive out the darkness and bring light to the country. He also said new leaders were overdue.

“We ask for prayers from believers, there is darkness in this country. We ask you to pray ... South Africa on May 29 we are going to vote. We can see the leaders at the forefront right now are no longer able to lead, we need new leaders,” he said.

Dlamini also asked for prayers for political leaders, saying they were fallible and prone to making mistakes.

Ngwezi and Dlamini urged congregants to go out in numbers to vote on May 29 while Mbalula said he would not dwell on the past 30 years of ANC governance, adding: “You know the truth — you will stay on the truth on May 29 and beyond.”

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