By NATION REPORTER
THE new dawn administration under President Hakainde Hichilema has worked hard to unite and bring harmony to the country that was so divided on the basis of tribalism and nepotism, Vice-President Mutale Nalumango told Parliament yesterday.
Mrs Nalumango said assertions that the UPND administration was promoting tribalism and nepotism were unfounded because the new dawn had so far proved that that it was a government for all Zambians irrespective of their tribe, ethnicity or religion.
She condemned insinuations that there was reverse and selective tribalism in the country under which the UPND was allegedly retiring citizens or dimissing them on the basis of tribe or political affiliation.
She said the UPND was not selective or tribal when scrutinising citizens who were applying for jobs in the public service as it had worked hard to balance all regions in appointment into civil and public service.
She said it was wrong for opposition parties to claim that citizens from certain regions were being discriminated or were being removed from the public service based on their tribal inclinations.
Ms Nalumango was reacting to Chienge Member of Parliament Given Katuta who stormed out of parliament charging that there was too much tribalism in the civil service following the firing and retiring of a number of police officers from the civil service.
Ms Katuta also claimed that there was a scenario where a head teacher was replaced by his junior just because he came from a certain region.
But Ms Nalumango said it was unfortunate that Ms Katuta walked out of the House after raising a concern that there was too much tribalism in the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) as a number of individuals had been purged on grounds that they hailed from a particular region.
Ms Nalumango said the UPND had not retired any citizen in national interest based on the region one came from unlike what it was in the previous administration.
She said that was the reason they and told all those that had been retired to reapply so that they could be reinstated.
Ms Nalumango said that the UPND was not looking at people’s names or even tribes and that was why they were trying to decentralise the process.
