Continued from last week
PART V RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS APEX COUNCIL
11. Establishment of Religious Apex Council
a) A Religious Apex Council, comprising of representatives of each of the religious organisations set out in section 6 (1) and a religious leader representing the Government of Zimbabwe is hereby established.
b) The Religious Apex Council shall:-
- Create and maintain a national register of religious ministries and organisations and their places of worship and issuing a listing certificate and certificates of recognition for use by the leaders of the religious leaders.
- Be a religious-support institution doing archival research on behalf of the religious ministries and religious organisations in Zimbabwe.
- Create and maintain a database of religious ministries and religious organisations in Zimbabwe.
- Create and maintain databases for members of religious ministries and religious organisations and names of its present leaders kept for reference purposes only.
- Record the constitutions and or by-laws of religious organisations and shall seek technical dissolution of religious organisations violating the law.
- Shall respond to requests for assistance from religious organisations in resolving disputes with any government entity;
- Shall receive and consider complaints against religious ministers, ministries or religious organisations.
- Mediate between ministers, religious ministries and religious organisations registered in Zimbabwe
- Develop its rules of procedures and codes of conduct which ensure that as far as possible any issue relating to the practice and way of worship of any religious ministry or religious organisation is addressed under the auspices of the Constitution and or by-laws of the religious ministry or religious organisation concerned unless this would lead to a glaring absurdity, in which case the religious Apex Council will be the final arbiter on the procedure to follow.
PART VI
AMENDMENTS
Amendments to the Religious Organisations Act shall become effective only with the full consent and assent of the aforementioned eligious Organisations’ Apex Council
- Noah Pashapa; Bishop Life and Liberty Churches International (bishopnpashapa@gmail.com)