The Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Central Africa was translated to the Diocese of Lusaka from the Diocese of Northern Zambia last month. On 3 September 2023 Archbishop Chama was installed as diocesan bishop for the capital city of Zambia in a service that also marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Archbishop Chama succeeds the Rt Rev. David Njovu who died in April 2022.

The President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema addressed the congregation stating:

Fellow citizens.

This morning, we joined fellow Christians in witnessing the double celebration of the Enthronement of His Grace Archbishop Dr Albert Chama as Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Lusaka and the Diamond Jubilee of the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

During the sermon, Right Reverend William Muchombo reminded us all to be servants and not masters of the people, and that as servants we must be able to smell as the people we lead. Basically, the Church reminded all of us to always side with those facing numerous challenges in society.

When called upon to deliver our message, we agreed with the Church that our country was faced with challenges, such as high prices of mealie meal and the cost of living. We assured the nation, through the church, that we are working round the clock to lower the cost of mealie meal and ultimately the cost of living.

We called upon citizens of our country and all stakeholders to join hands with us to tackle the current economic challenges in a comprehensive manner. In addressing these, we must remain stable and not solve one problem by creating another.

We remain grateful to the church for partnering with us in charting our country’s economic path in the right trajectory.

In celebrating the Cathedral’s 60 years, we recognised that, not only has the Church met its Christian mission for the pastoral care of the Flock but has also stood as a bulwark of peace and stability in our country over the decades.

We congratulated the new Bishop of Lusaka and encouraged the Church to continue rendering advice to government for our roles meet at the point of serving the needs of the people and addressing common national challenges.

May God bless the church. May God bless the Body of Christ which is one.

Hakainde Hichilema

President of the Republic of Zambia.