Mother bodies back Public Affairs Committee
Five mother bodies of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) have come out to defend the religious institution following reports of cracks among the member organisations.
The bodies have also refuted allegations that some of them have withdrawn their membership from the institution because it has departed from its original mandate.
The five are Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM), Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) and Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi (QMAM).
The bodies said in a statement issued yesterday, PAC has only five mother bodies and not eight as purported by some quarters prior to the 5+1 All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference held on June 7 and 8 this year.
“We further wish to point out that mother bodies have never been excluded in PAC decision-making because they are constitutionally involved at PAC governance level as far as decision-making process is concerned,” reads the statement signed by all chairpersons and general secretaries of the five mother bodies.
Lately, there have been divided opinions over PAC’s operations with others appreciating its role of providing platform to the voiceless and some arguing the body has lost pathway and is no longer relevant to the citizenry.
One of the current PAC critics is former vice-chairperson Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe who believes the quasi-religious body has departed from its initial values.
But the mother bodies argue that all decisions taken by the organisation have their endorsement through the board of trustees and general secretaries.
