Transformation agenda laid bare

Tue, 02 May 2017 09:58:02 +0000

THE transformation agenda espoused by President Lungu in his speech during the commemoration of the international Labour Day yesterday guarantees that Zambia’s economic development is set on the right path.

Our country cannot witness holistic sustainable national development if not premised on a set of principles and values that must serve as a bedrock for productivity.

And we concur with President Lungu that productivity is never an accident, but it is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort.

Undeniably, these are cardinal pre-requisites for the development of our nation.

And to execute this transformation agenda, we have to change our mindset by getting rid of the entrenched behaviours and structures that are in conflict with the defined national development agenda.

Government’s focus on increased investment in infrastructure development such as roads, schools and health facilities across the country certainly lays a firm foundation for creation of the much needed jobs.

However, there is need for Government to ensure that the civil service is transformed as opposed to the current status quo where some senior government officials undermine government’s developmental thrust by paying allegiance to their narrow political party agendas.

It must be borne in mind that despite our divergent ethnic, social, religious and political backgrounds, we have a shared heritage and destiny as a country, which obliges us to co-exist whenever it comes to developing Zambia.

If the current crop of workers cannot pull its energies together for the good of this country, such acts not only betray government trust but also the future generation, and posterity will judge us harshly.

Thus, political manoeuvres and acts that tend to veer from this standard of national cohesion through diligent service delivery must be condemned because it is prone to creating discord in executing the set objectives to transform Zambia’s economy for the benefit of all.

This is the agenda of unity and future prosperity that President Lungu passionately elucidated which can only begin with workers embracing national values and principles.

Can there be high productivity among a politically inclined civil service? How many workers, both in the private and public sectors, are ready to be apolitical for the sake of actualising the national transformation agenda?

We think that patriotism should speak to the heart and soul of every Zambian in our quest to attaining a better Zambia.

It is a misconception for some opposition political leaders to think that championing such ideals is for government alone.

Instead, this must be embraced by all stakeholders including the civil society, the private sector and all citizens.

Government’s focus to create, at the minimum, 200, 000 decent jobs on an annual basis is a tenable goal provided it is underpinned by appropriate policies and structural reforms. It is not a matter that needs to be politicised at all. It is achievable.

The mere mention of the US$30 million financing that Government has received from the African Development Bank specifically for implementation of the skills development and entrepreneurship project which shall create more than 16, 000 jobs attests to the possibility of attaining the focused statistics in job creation.

Therefore, the urgent need to inculcate the values of honesty, objectivity, impartiality, loyalty, accountability, excellence, confidentiality, integrity and selflessness among public servants to quicken development is inevitable.

We urge all workers to consider what is good for Zambia first as opposed to sabotaging government programmes.