By SIMON MUNTEMBA
IT is not only dangerous but retrogressive to expect all senior civil servants to be fired all because of the change of Government, former Zambia National Students Union (ZANASU) vice president Prince Ndoyi.
In an interview, Mr Ndoyi has advised some UPND members against witch-hunting against some senior Government officials that served in the previous regime because not all positions of governance should be politicized.
Mr Ndoyi, who defended the extension of Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda’s contract, said the issue of bringing politics in everything was retrogressive.
He called on the UPND led Government to take a leaf from Patriotic Front which did not fire all civil servants when MMD lost power, nut returned most of them in key positions with others redeployed to other equally important portfolios to avoid victimization.
He observed that the witch hunt which some UPND supporters had started against some senior top civil servants was what unfortunately led to the unfairly firing of Dr. Denny Kalyalya by the PF government for what was perceived as purely politics.
“That was not fair. So let’s avoid victimizing one another based on cheap stories,” he said.
He said Mr Chanda was a performer who had proven his worth at ZRA and recognized in the region as one of the top officers of Customs in the region as demonstrated by him being hired as a consultant in Malawi and Mozambique.
“Just a bit about Kingsley Chanda, give it to him. He is a performer. And what reason will HH give for getting rid of a performer. Governance is about achieving results. If people want to use hatred and jealous, they will miss the script, what’s the point of having loyalists who can’t deliver,” he said.
He added, “Let’s encourage our very own Zambians, to aspire so long as they are doing the right thing, governments come and go, slogans come and go. But the legacy of every administration weak as it may be, highly depends on how motivated and respected the civil service is. Never demoralize the civil service, never let it slip off, read between the lines, messages and sentiments are very condescending.”
Mr Ndoyi also said President Hichilema promised to run a Government based merit hence firing Mr. Chanda would raise eye brows as his performance indicates that he should be maintained.
