Thu, 29 Dec 2016 12:28:49 +0000
By Aaron Chiyanzo
GOVERNMENT should heed President Edgar Lungu’s call for a radical shake up in the civil service by effecting immediate transfers and bringing in new blood in order to dismantle the cartels that are prone to plundering public resources, Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) national secretary Raphael Nakacinda has charged.
Mr Nakacinda said that the civil service in Zambia had a laissez-faire attitude towards work because there had not been dramatic changes in the civil service for a long time.
He said in an interview with the Daily Nation that most employees who overstayed in their positions ended up establishing cartel chains to plunder public resources.
Mr Nakacinda wondered how some permanent secretaries from government ministries failed to account for the expenditures in their ministries before the Public Accounts Committee.
He noted that employees focused more on how they would benefit from their employment rather than the service they were supposed to offer.
Mr Nakacinda advised Cabinet Office to heed to President Lungu’s call for a radical shake up in the civil service to dismantle any cartels that might have been created.
“The civil service needs a dramatic shake up by effecting transfers and bringing in new blood in order to dismantle the cartels they form to plunder public resources when they overstay in a position. The civil service in Zambia has a laissez-faire attitude towards work because there has not been dramatic changes,” he said.
Mr Nakacinda also wondered why Government was always buying its supplies at a higher price when the same procurements could be purchased elsewhere at a much cheaper price.
He noted that most of the civil servants developed cartels when it came to procurement of public inputs, where they also benefitted from the purchases.
“Saudi Arabia offers fertiliser at a cheaper price of about US$ 300 per tonne, why should we end up having fertiliser bought at US$ 1, 200 per tonne, where is the US$ 900 coming from? People somewhere along the line have created a bureaucracy and an in-built chord which goes in people’s pockets,” said Mr Nakacinda.
Mr Nakacinda stressed the need for resources in the country to be shared equitably among all people and not for a small segment to enrich themselves.
He reiterated that politicians should demonstrate a desire to serve other than using their positions to create unnecessary cartels and cut deals.
Mr Nakacinda pointed out that public service was an opportunity to do a greater good for the general citizenry and that it required sacrifice.
