Why give churches relief?
What you need to know:
- Nearly 500 loans of over $1 million were approved for Catholic entities
- Christ Is The Answer Ministries (Citam), with more than 15 branches, is ranked among the richest, generating an annual income of more than Sh1.83 billion.
About a month or so after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, a section of church leaders went to the Press to announce that they had incurred losses of more than Sh8 billion. But when church” is mentioned, what first comes to mind is spiritual nourishment, not business.
But in the US, the Roman Catholic Church won a government exception from federal rules and was included in the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP), getting more than $1.4 billion in tax-funded coronavirus aid. Nearly 500 loans of over $1 million were approved for Catholic entities.
Faith-based organisations that promote religious beliefs aren’t usually eligible for money from the US Small Business Administration but, when millions became unemployed, Congress let them and other non-profit entities apply for PPP, eliciting criticism on the doctrine of separation of Church and State.
Although in Kenya churches are exempt from other taxes under the Non-Governmental Organisations Co-ordination Act, audit reports show at least five churches in the Kenya Revenue Authority’s list of top taxpayers. Some of the richest churches have invested heavily in various sectors of the economy.
For example, Christ Is The Answer Ministries (Citam), with more than 15 branches, is ranked among the richest, generating an annual income of more than Sh1.83 billion.
Others raking in hundreds of millions in income include Nairobi Chapel (over Sh632 million), Mavuno Church (Sh290 million), All Saints Cathedral (Sh240 million) and Nairobi Baptist Church (Sh163 million).
From the thousands of churches in the country, at least three do business with an annual turnover of Sh350 million to Sh1 billion — among them the Coptic Orthodox Church, Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church and Nairobi Pentecostal Church.
Were the churches’ lamentations selfish and uncalled for? Or where do we draw the line between spiritual nourishment, church and mammon?
