10 Commandments for Zambia

2011-09-25 22:31

Lusaka - Zambia's new President Michael Sata, the first elected Catholic head of state and a devout believer, said on Sunday his government would follow the tenets of the 10 Biblical Commandments.

"This government will be governed on the 10 Commandments. Thou shall not steal, do unto others as you would like them to do unto you," Sata told parishioners at a church in Lusaka's upscale Rhodes Park district.

"For the first time this country has a Catholic president and our government will support the church," Sata said, recalling that the nation was predominantly Catholic.

Sata took office on Friday, kicking off with a pledge to crack down on the rampant corruption that turned voters away from his predecessor Rupiah Banda.

Banda had campaigned on the strength of Zambia's economy, which grew 7.6% last year, and pointed to new hospitals, schools, roads and electricity projects as proof of his success.

But Sata took 43% of the vote to Banda's 36%, by harnessing the anger of the youth and the unemployed who have yet to see change in their daily lives.

The election was marred by sporadic violence that left two people dead.

Zambia is now one of the few African countries to have the ruling party change democratically twice since independence.

Sata is the fifth president of the country, which gained independence from Britain in 1964.

- AFP