The Zion Christian Church has announced its gradual resumption of conferences after putting them on hold in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the church has bad news for vendors who have, for years, cashed in as millions of church members flocked to the church during the celebration of their new year in September; they will not be allowed to operate.

BACK TO REGULAR PROGRAMMING 

The spokesperson for the church, Moatshe Ngoepe, said the first conference will be for the 2024/25 Consecration of the New Year, which will be held from Friday, 30 August to Sunday, 1 September, in Moria City outside Polokwane in the Limpopo. "We are reminding the general public about our procedural matters during these conferences. Internal communication with the ZCC community regarding the standing protocols and processes has been communicated and will continue during this conference," said Ngoepe.

NO VENDORS ALLOWED 

Annually, vendors who sold fruits, cooked mealies, walking sticks, food and other goods made thousands of Rands from sales made from the three-day conference. In the statement, Ngoepe said the church has requested the public to take note that vendors will not be allowed to operate along the R71 main road between Polokwane and Tzaneen in front of the church's headquarters in Moria City, starting from Matshelapata in Mentz to Mphogodiba. "The church, as a law-abiding entity, works closely with law enforcement agencies to deal with all safety and security-related matters. This is done for safety reasons, including the safety of pedestrians. The church is, however, not in any way against small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), but its conditions are mainly for safety measures. The church has humbly requested full cooperation from every member of the community during the duration of this conference.