1.As our church leaders already pointed out in April 2003, “the heart of this crisis is the issue of governance”. We are particularly worried by the following:

a.The sad degeneration of democracy in Zambia, due to the switching of MPs from one party to another, giving rise to numerous by-elections, and to a de facto reversion to a one-party state. Is the ideal of a multi-party democracy really an essential value in our political system?
b.The state of security in our country, the rising number of armed robberies, assaults and thefts in our compounds and religious houses. If people cannot feel secure in their own country, something is seriously wrong.
c.The breakdown of law and order, highlighted by the recent events at the ‘sacred grounds’ of the Supreme Court, where party cadres were allowed to resort to violence despite a strong police presence. We are concerned with the apparent inability of the forces of law and order to deal adequately with such situations.
d.We are aware that many of our governance problems are related to the fact of having a defective Constitution. We therefore reinforce the demand of our Bishops that the process of adopting the new Constitution be such that the voice of the Zambian people will be truly heard (see Pastoral Letter ‘Let my People Go’).

2.We are noticing with concern that the poverty levels are rising alarmingly, depriving many of our people of their God-given human dignity. We repeat what we already stated in 2001 that the main problem in our country is not lack of resources but lack of priorities.

a.We are told that our economy is improving. But our dependency on foreign funding and investors seems to generate very little capital investment, and therefore fails to create adequate job opportunities. Less than 13% of our labour force is in formal employment; unemployment ‘wounds the dignity of its victims’ and one of the major duties of a healthy economy is to create jobs.
b.In spite of the difficult economic situation, our government is not using our limited resources prudently, e.g. unnecessary by-elections, excess travel expenses, too big a size of government with unnecessary deputy ministers, frequent buying of government vehicles, etc.
c.At the beginning of this year the President asked the Zambian people for further sacrifices, so as to be able to meet the demands of the HIPC initiative. The planned increase in taxes will inevitably bring about an increase in prices, whilst the wage freeze is still a reality. We cannot imagine what more sacrifices the vast majority of our people can make, without being reduced to a level of total dehumanisation.

3.Education:

The appalling deterioration of quality education in our country is deeply worrying, as the future of our children is at stake.
a)The re-organisation of the teachers training program was to provide more teachers. In 2002 approximately 5000 teachers graduated, but due to the apparent lack of funds these teachers have not been posted. Since December 2003 another group of teachers has graduated so that we have almost 10,000 trained teachers who are not yet employed. This has resulted in a serious shortage of teachers and over-crowding of classes, especially in the rural areas. It is a serious and worrying situation, especially considering the already poor conditions of service of the present teachers.
b)The proliferation of private schools and of tutoring provides quality education for some of our citizens. However, we would like to ensure that adequate funding is provided in the state sector, so that quality education is accessible to the majority. Good education is a human right for all.
c)Another concern for us is the fact that only 62% of the allocated budget 2003 for the grant-aided high schools was received. All these facts make us wonder if quality education is really a priority for the government.

4.Health:

a)We all know that the HIV/Aids pandemic is having devastating effects on the country. It is a major challenge both to public health and to our socio-economic development. We are also aware that large amounts of money seem to be available to provide access to Anti Retroviral drugs. Our concern is to ensure the availability of these ARV drugs to all those who could benefit, whether rich or poor. Moreover, to provide these strong drugs is not sufficient, without a proper diet and the provision of health services able to monitor such programs throughout the country.
b)According to our experience, access to health services is a nightmare in most rural areas. We are therefore concerned about the regular exodus of health personnel from the country. There is need to identify who are the critical workers in our public service. We strongly believe that teachers and health-workers are key to the development of this country and need support and encouragement by improved conditions of service.

Deeply concerned about the seriousness of the situation for the majority of the people in Zambia, we Women Religious have decided to continue raising our voice for the voiceless, and knock once again at the door of those in government.

We ask for a real commitment on the part of government to ensure the prevalence of the rule of law at all times. “Zambia is not for one political party. Zambia is not for one ethnic group or region. Zambia is neither for the rich alone nor for the poor only…” (Address of His Excellency the President to Parliament in March 2002).

We re-affirm that “every policy, every program, and every priority must be measured and evaluated by whether it enhances or diminishes human life and dignity.” We therefore challenge the leadership in our country to start sacrificing by seriously reducing government spending.

We urge the government to give immediate attention to priorities in education and health, so as to ensure a better to-morrow for our brothers and sisters.

“When the poor cry in anguish,
God hears their cry…”

Zambia Association of Sisterhoods
Lusaka, 3rd February 2004