Chakwera lauds Malawi Assemblies of God
President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday commended the Malawi Assemblies of God for not taking advantage of his rise to the country’s presidency to seek favours.
The President, who presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the church’s K800 million office complex in Lilongwe, said he was pleased that the church he led until 2013 has instead remained committed to God’s work.
He said: “Let me congratulate you for remaining committed to God’s work and not taking advantage of the election of your former president to the President of the nation.”
Chakwera also congratulated the church on taking up the challenge to construct a state-of-the-art structure.
The President urged Malawians to prioritise quality in infrastructure development.
Chakwera then challenged members of different faith groups, who hold positions in both public and private sectors, to put their faith first and have integrity.
“The only way we can protect our resources is when we have officers with integrity and these officers are members of faith groups so let our faith lead us,” he said.
The President donated K2 million towards the project and urged other well-wishers to join him and support the project to make it a success.
Speaking earlier, Malawi Assemblies of God vice-president Benito Chisamba said the church is supporting Malawi 2063.
He said the agenda is the driving force of economic growth in the church and the country, citing the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) as an example of important components.
“Most of our pastors benefited from AIP last year and they have enough food from bumper yields.
“The congregants as well have given huge tithes from their harvests all because of the programme,” said Chisamba.
According to the project’s plan outlined by Victor Msowoya, one of the church elders in the steering committee, the five-storey complex will cover 4 500 square metres.
He said some space in the complex will be rented out to raise funds for the running of the church’s projects.
Chakwera quit the pulpit and his position as Malawi Assemblies of God president in 2013 to join frontline politics.
