Harare — THE Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) has come under fire from some of its members who are accusing the Christian umbrella organisation of meddling in partisan politics.

Investigations carried out by The Herald have revealed that there is discontent in the organisation as some of its constituent members are against the "unholy alliance" between EFZ and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are expressly anti-Government, such as Crisis Zimbabwe.

The concerned members are calling for the immediate resignation of EFZ president Bishop Trevor Manhanga, vice-president Dr Goodwill Shana and general secretary Mr Charles Chiriseri for putting the name of the organisation into disrepute.

However, Bishop Manhanga yesterday dismissed the allegations that the organisation was meddling in politics, although he acknowledged that some EFZ executive members held influential positions in some NGOs.

The concerned members, who requested anonymity, said the Christian organisation had been aligned to such NGOs with partisan political agendas as Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) without the formal approval of the general membership.

"Once known in the limelight as a prophetic voice with the mandate of its member bodies, the EFZ has reached a situation where it has become like a ship without a radar as it has lost its mandate," said one member.

He said what was of major concern was that Dr Shana was the chairman of TIZ which was known for its anti-Government stance, while Mr Chiriseri was chairing the self-proclaimed peace-building committee of Crisis Zimbabwe.

Another member said the EFZ had become donor-dependent and this had resulted in the imposition of donor-driven projects with disastrous consequences.

"EFZ has continued to parrot and chorus the same tune with opposition political parties and NGOs and there is much confusion as warranting us to come back to our evangelical theology and define what we mean by 'prophetic voice'," he said.

"Not that the Church should condone or perpetuate anything that is bad in society, but the Church's approach should be different as it takes after salt and light without being antagonistic to the Government like the opposition parties and some known NGOs."

The concerned members implored the EFZ leadership to note that the organisation was an umbrella body with membership drawn from pentecostal and evangelical Christian denominations and should not be used for the benefit of a select few individuals.

Bishop Manhanga said the concerned members should have brought such issues for deliberation at the annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for November.

"If our members feel that we are no longer serving their interests, then this should be brought forward during the AGM as we are prepared to quit because we derive our mandate from them," he said.

The EFZ chief said Dr Shana and Mr Chiriseri had joined the NGOs in their personal capacities and were not seconded by any Christian organisation.

"Actually, before the two accepted their positions in the non-governmental organisations we had quite extensive debate within our national executive. Dr Shana was even prepared to quit his position as EFZ vice-president if it was felt that his new post as TIZ chairman would compromise our organisation," Bishop Manhanga said.

"We don't want to be seen as being confrontational with the Government."

He said Dr Shana accepted his post as TIZ chairman in good faith since he intended to turn the organisation so that it would be run in a non-partisan and transparent manner as opposed to the former chairman, Dr John Makumbe, who was perceived to be anti-Government.

On donor funding, Bishop Manhanga said EFZ was largely funded by its members although it was involved in partnerships with some donors in carrying out community projects that included dam construction and food distribution.

Dr Shana and Mr Chiriseri could not be reached for comment yesterday.