Govt and the church attuned in Senyawe village

There was pomp and funfare in Senyawe village on Saturday when the Assemblies of God church of Botswana and the Presidential housing appeal became a blesser for an economically challenged resident of the village, Nicholas Robert who was all smiles during the official handing over of his new house.

Although many theories exist regarding the relationship between the Church and government, others aver that no state or government can survive or function by ignoring the role of the church. Yet some will equally contest that the church should stay away from issues of governance or politics. Whatever the arguments, the bottom-line is that God is the supreme governor who reigns in every government and that no government can be successful if it undermines God and the leadership that God has bestowed on his people through the church.

When President Lt. Gen Dr. Ian Khama ascended the throne, he had within his leadership mapped the 5Ds: Democracy, Discipline, Dignity, Development and Delivery and little did he know that the Assemblies of God in Botswana under the leadership of Bishop Dr. Raphael Habibo will contribute towards the answering of his prayers on one of the Ds-Dignity.

Khama’s conviction is that every human being’s dignity matters  and it is on the basis of that principle that he vigorously introduced the Presidential Housing Appeal which to date has handed over 622 houses countrywide. One of those houses, the 622nd, came as a token of compassion and love from the Assemblies of God Main Church in Gaborone to Robert of Senyawe village in Tati East constituency. The Assemblies of God became one of the latest “blessers” of  Khama by donating a 2-bedroomed house with 2-bathrooms, a kitchen and a sitting room towards his Presidential Housing Appeal initiative.

Speaking at the handover ceremony over the weekend in Senyawe, the jubilant guest, Tefo Mokaila, from the Office of the President acknowledged the instrumental role the Church plays in the running of any government. He impressed upon the Bishop of Assemblies of God in Botswana to continue sowing seeds of hope and love to those in need since it is the wish of Khama to see every person living a dignified life. Mokaila also requested the church to continue praying for the President so that God can guide him in his challenging task of leading the nation. Mokaila reflected on the fact that the Presidential Housing Appeal is an innocent and legitimate call to every Motswana to contribute towards making lives better for those whose socio-economic and political circumstances are unfortunate.

One of the guests at the ceremony, Professor Agreement Lathi Jotia of the University of Botswana said that no government can achieve its mandate if it fails to recognise the Church and the instrumental role that it plays in national development. Prof. Jotia, who is a Democracy and Education Specialist, vibrantly spoke about the fact that the wheels of any democracy are oiled by the people and that it was therefore not accidental that the Assemblies of God Church saw it fitting to contribute towards the building of democracy by building a house for Nicholas Robert. Prof. Jotia said that a democracy can never triumph if it is run by a leadership that does not care about involving the masses in the development process.

“In our participatory democracy, the role of the church should never be undermined since more often the church has visionary leadership,” said Prof. Jotia. Bishop Dr. Raphel Habibo expressed his gratitude to the entire Assemblies of God Church in Botswana for the good gestures they continue to make towards the nation and urge them to pursue the good job throughout the good and bad seasons.

For his part Nicholas Robert, registered his appreciation to the Assemblies of God church as well as to the Office of the President in a few words; “I am so excited about what you have done for me-lenna ke motho gompieno. Tswelelang jalo lo thuse ba bangwe. Ke a leboga thata thata,” he emotionally said.

Area Councillor  William Tatose could not hide his excitement regarding the history that the Assemblies of God church has made in Senyawe by contributing a magnificent structure towards the development of his village. Tatose noted that the church plays a crucial role in the development of a person morally and spiritually and urged Assemblies of God Church to forge on with its development mission in Botswana.