Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Sunday prayed to God to “heal” his country’s ailing currency, with bars and soccer matches canceled on a national day of prayer to end a record slump.
Lungu ordered the prayer session last month after the kwacha fell 45 percent against the US dollar since the start of the year due to a sharp drop in the price of copper, the nation’s main export.
Food prices have soared and crippling power shortages have also been triggered by low water-levels in Lake Kariba, where hydropower plants supply much of the nation’s electricity.
Photo: AFP
The kwacha’s 45 percent slump against the greenback this year has been the worst of all 155 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
“Our God has heard our cries; he has forgiven us our sins and we are sure he will heal our country [as] we face serious social-economic challenges,” Lungu told a gathering of about 5,000 Zambians, including former Zambian presidents Kenneth Kaunda and Rupiah Banda.
He also appealed to Zambians with “brilliant ideas” to come forward and assist the government.
“There are many out there who have brilliant ideas; let them come forward, we run an open government,” he told the crowd in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
“We should never seek political success on the back of our national failure or disaster. It is our people who will suffer,” he said. “You all know that God is love and I appeal to all of you to do the best and leave the rest to God.”
Kaunda prayed that God would help Lungu solve Zambia’s woes.
“God, continue to help us solve the problems this young man may face in future,” Kaunda said.
The Zambian soccer association postponed all of Sunday’s games and the government said bars should not open until 6pm.
Critics have accused Lungu of failing to tackle the causes of country’s economy troubles, but during the session Bishop Peter Ndlobvu hit back at them.
“The Bible says gold and silver belong to God. If we pray, God will restore our economy” he said.
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