SUNDAY MAIL
Catholic bishops distance themselves from Ncube
By Herbert Zharare
THE Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference has distanced itself from Archbishop
Pius Ncube;s "lies" that 160 people from Matabeleland have starved to
death owing to what the clergyman alleged to be the Government;s policy of
discrimination against opposition MDC members when distributing food aid.
Father Walter Nyatsanza, the secretary-general of the ZCBC, told our Bulawayo
Bureau in a telephone interview from his Harare office on Friday that Archbishop
Ncube has never communicated with the national body on the issue.
The ZCBC is an authoritative Roman Catholic Church body that deliberates on
crucial national issues affecting dioceses countrywide, and is composed of three
retired and nine active bishops.
Said Father Nyatsanza: "The archbishop (Ncube), has never brought the issue of
starvation to the Conference. Although there is famine in the country, we have
not yet carried out an evaluation exercise to find out how many people have died
of hunger.
"The official stance of the Church is that archbishops who lead various dioceses
throughout the country should disseminate truthful information about what is
happening in their respective areas."
Archbishop Ncube, who has been described by his critics as a politician
disguised as a clergyman, was last week quoted in a British Broadcasting
Corpor-ation programme, Focus on Africa, as saying President Mugabe should
resign because the Zanu-PF Government is denying opposition party supporters
food aid.
The archbishop said 160 people in his home region of Matabeleland have already
starved to death, and thousands would die next year because President
Mugabe;s ruling Zanu PF party is deliberately denying food aid to
political opponents.
But the Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan
Moyo, has dismissed the claims as "outrageous ; and a "dangerous
lie; and challenged the archbishop to step down.
The clergyman was also castigated for allegedly blocking development in
Matabeleland in a desperate bid to justify his self-fulfilling prophecy of the
political marginalisation of Ndebele people.
Archbishop Ncube has repeatedly refused to allow the Government to upgrade a
Roman Catholic hospital, St Luke;s Mission Hospital near Lupane, to a
provincial health centre that would serve the whole of Matabeleland North.
The Government thus decided to go it alone and on Thursday the Minister of
Finance and Economic Development, Dr Herbert Murerwa, announced in his budget
proposals that funds have been allocated for the construction of a new
provincial hospital in the Matabeleland North capital, Lupane, next year.
President Mugabe has also criticised Archbishop Ncube for constantly blocking
the Government;s efforts to upgrade St Luk;s Mission Hospital in
Lupane for politically motivated reasons.
Father Nyatsanza of the Catholic Bishops Conference challenged Archbishop Ncube
to come up with evidence of the claims on starvation.
"I cannot say so many people have died of hunger (in Matabeleland) because there
is no scientific research that has been carried out. If Archbishop Ncube has
evidence from his people, let him clarify that for himself. Maybe he raised a
number of issues, but the media organisation just picked and concentrated on one
issue," he said.
The Government maintains that Archbishop Ncube;s claims are unfounded, as
there is no evidence on the ground to support them. Grain Marketing Board
officials said the statistics on maize distribution do not reveal any
discrimination against the people of Matabeleland and other areas perceived by
Archbishop Ncube to be opposition strongholds.
According to GMB statistics, the Government distributed 569 303 tonnes of maize
throughout the country between January 31 and November 1 this year to alleviate
hunger caused by drought.
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"Ivinicus factus sum veritabem diceus." ( I have become an enemy for speaking the truth ) St Paul!
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Mitayo Potosi
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