[ 2011-09-25 ]

New Zambian govt to follow 10 Commandments
LUSAKA (AFP) - Zambia's new President Michael
Sata, the first elected Catholic head of state and
a devout believer, said Sunday his government
would follow the tenets of the 10 Biblical
Commandments.

"This government will be governed on the 10
Commandments. Thou shall not steal, do unto others
as you would like them to do unto you," Sata told
parishioners at a church in Lusaka's upscale
Rhodes Park district.

"For the first time this country has a Catholic
president and our government will support the
church," Sata said, recalling that the nation was
predominantly Catholic.

Sata took office Friday, kicking off with a pledge
to crack down on the rampant corruption that
turned voters away from his predecessor Rupiah
Banda.

Banda had campaigned on the strength of Zambia's
economy, which grew 7.6 percent last year, and
pointed to new hospitals, schools, roads and
electricity projects as proof of his success.

But Sata took 43 percent of the vote to Banda's 36
percent, by harnessing the anger of the youth and
the unemployed who have yet to see change in their
daily lives.

The election was marred by sporadic violence that
left two people dead.

Zambia is now one of the few African countries to
have the ruling party change democratically twice
since independence. Sata is the fifth president of
the country, which gained independence from
Britain in 1964.

Source - AFP

... go Back