Lusaka — Opposition National Citizens Coalition (NCC) president Pastor Nevers Mumba yesterday urged the Church to continue fighting the "immorality" of the ruling MMD government.

Pastor Mumba said there was a cry from both politicians and civil society for the Church to intervene in creating a progressive society based on the rule of law.

"There is currently more hate in our nation, than any other time in history," Pastor Mumba said.

"This hate must be interpreted through vindictiveness, suppression and revenge." He suggested that Christians and key Church leaders should immediately converge and come up with a God inspired strategy to help the country move forward.

"At another level, I call on all Christian politicians regardless of political affiliation to meet not as politicians, but as custodians of the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation," Pastor Mumba said.

"This group must take responsibility to ensure that Christian leadership and values are permanently inculcated in any future government." Pastor Mumba said the third term issue was being given unnecessary attention which was side tracking both the MMD and opposition parties.

"This is time to concentrate on designing a new future for Zambia and allow the Zambians to scrutinise it and become part of it," he said. Pastor Mumba said he would encourage Christians to take full responsibility of this year's elections.

"I want more Christians to run for elections this year," he said. "I am not really intimidated by the third term. Chiluba has in fact achieved what he wanted to, by making sure that the third term becomes a national issue." On merging with other political parties in order to make a formidable party, Pastor Mumba said the NCC needed to proceed in its present form.

"It has been more of compatibility with other political parties," he said. Pastor Mumba said for NCC to enter a merger it would do so on the basis of high thoughts and compatibility.

He said the NCC was making consultations with all opposition political parties and if it was the intention of the party national executive to have the NCC join others, then he would do so.

Pastor Mumba said a decision on merging would be made in the next 10 days. Pastor Mumba admitted that he was still using his television programme Zambia shall be saved, to get to the people on his party policies.

"Yes I think it's an opportunity for me to explain myself in the line of the Bible," he explained. Pastor Mumba said since the launch of the programme, his message has always been that Zambia shall be saved some day.