By SIMON MUNTEMBA
ALL constitutional offices, including the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), Anti-Corruption Commission and Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) should be advertised to ensure only qualified and competent individuals occupy such public offices, a clergyman has suggested.
Reverend Moses Lungu, who has backed Constitutional lawyer John Sangwa’s suggestion to have the Chief Justice position advertised, said all constitutional offices should be advertised.
Rev. Lungu said in an interview that only when public constitutional offices are advertised would the nation have qualified individuals who would execute duties diligently without fear of anyone.
“As a clergyman, I support Mr Sangwa’s suggestion to have the position of Chief Justice advertised. In fact, all the constitutional offices such as DEC, ACC, FIC and others should be advertised to ensure competent and qualified people are given those positions on merit,” he said.
Rev. Lungu said it was difficult for those that were handpicked by the power that be to independently execute their duties against the appointing authority.
“For lack of a better term, some of the people occupying constitutional offices are partisan, they behave like political cadres, because, as you are aware they can never bite the finger that feeds them. They can’t go against the appointing authority. That is why it is important to advertise the constitutional offices for transparent’s sake,” Rev. Lungu said.
Mr Sangwa recently appealed to President Hakainde Hichilema to subject the filling in of the vacant position of Chief Justice to a competitive and transparent process before it was taken to Parliament for ratification.
Mr Sangwa said the appointment of the next Chief Justice must not be based on partisan, ethnic, regional or even personal lines but by the ideal that merit hard work and a clean track record.
He suggested that the Judicial Service Commission must invite interested people to apply for the vacant position and publicly interview them.
