AT A GLANCE | MEMBER CHURCH NEWS AFRICA South African Council of Churches (SACC) launches campaign against COVID-19 corruption The South African Council of Churches (SACC) led a delegation to meet with officials of African National Congress (ANC) in their call for societal action against COVID-19 corruption on 24 August. Together with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Foundation for Human Rights and the Council for the Advancement of South African Constitution (CASAC), they called on the ANC and all political parties to enter into a covenant based on a public commitment to accountability, responsiveness and openness.
Years of state capture, unethical governance, and recently, large-scale looting of Covid-19 emergency funding, had compelled them to take a stand against “moral depravity of some in positions of authority that undermine the very notion of nationhood and the underlying value of public
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service”, according to a statement.
SACC officially launched its anti-corruption campaign with an online midday service of lament and protest on 30 August, where leaders of its membership of churches delivered messages and prayed together. Subsequently, the SACC and its partner organisations will work with academics and legal experts to mobilise a comprehensive societal response against corruption. This includes the reopening of an “Unburdening Panel” for whistle-blowers and public servants to report corruption, as well as a national call for the public to demonstrate their outrage at not only the looting, but also the lack of consequences for it. “We refuse for corruption to define who we are and our heritage… therefore we want to stand up against those who are corrupt to the point of stealing money that provides essential service to people who are dying,” said Church and Community Liaison Director of the Council of Churches, Rev Mzwandile Molo. South African church leaders hold countrywide silent prayers against corruption As part of this nation-wide campaign, South African national church leaders INSiGHT | October 2020
participated in a “performance of silence” in all its provinces on 15 September. They stood in silent prayer for an hour, carrying anti-corruption messages on placards in front of various key national and provincial locations, including the Union Buildings where the
SACC General Secretary Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana led the performance. The Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) also released a statement in support of initiatives and campaigns against corruption, imploring all in the UPCSA to stay away from corruption and to report any form of corruption to the relevant authorities. Denouncing the scourge of corruption and how it disproportionately affects the poor, especially women and children, UPCSA General Secretary Rev Lungile Mpetsheni encouraged churches to factor this into their liturgies and put up posters as churches re-open for public worship. The wearing of orange masks on Fridays is a campaign to ensure that all those who are found guilty should be granted the opportunity to wear orange overalls in prison, added Rev Mpetsheni.
