Stop political purges - Prof Ngoma

…as the former CBU vice-chancellor says arbitrary dismissals and mass purges in public and civil service can create disenchanted citizens, destabilise the nation, advises the UPND government to stop the trend of mass dismissals of workers across sectors on political grounds By NATION REPORTER GOVERNMENT should stop the culture of persecuting and unfairly dismissing citizens perceived to hold dissenting views, as such actions can create disaffected people and potentially cause instability problems for the country, former Copperbelt University vice-chancellor Professor Naison Ngoma has warned. Prof Ngoma, who rose to the rank of Colonel in the military, says even the wrongful dismissal of one person should not be tolerated because decisions made by those in authority could have consequences long after they leave office. “The persecution of employees at any time, anywhere, anyhow is not correct. It’s not right. And it needs to be stopped. It needs to be corrected,” Prof Ngoma said in an interview yesterday. He, however, cautioned against treating every allegation of political victimisation as established fact, saying perceptions could sometimes be based on incomplete or one-sided information. “The challenges of perceived persecution is that usually one tends to depend on information which is one-sided. You are receiving information from maybe a victim or perceived victim, or you are receiving information from people who are observing what has happened, and that information may not necessarily be correct,” he said. Prof Ngoma nevertheless urged those managing public institutions to act quickly whenever concerns about victimisation arise to prevent negative perceptions from taking root. “The institutions, therefore, need to be extremely careful that whatever perception seems to be arising must always be attended to as quickly as possible, for the perception not lingering on to the extent that, as the saying goes, perception is reality,” he said. The soldier-cum-academician said decisions involving retirement in national interrest or removal from employment should be carefully considered and subjected to due process. “Sending a letter to anybody, even if it is one, not having thought through properly, is itself incorrect. Because we should never commit injustices,” Prof Ngoma said. He said the impact of dismissing an employee went beyond the individual because many workers had families and other people depending on them. “When you fire a person today, that person is has lot of other people who are, you know, who they depend on. So, it means that you have a whole other family which starts suffering because of that particular action,” he said. Prof Ngoma said where Government found it necessary to retire or remove employees, the affected individuals should be given an opportunity to defend themselves. Prof Ngoma warned that abruptly rendering people jobless and financially distressed could create resentment against the authorities. “To get people, you get them out, you know, bankrupt. Then, you are making people disaffected. Now, a disaffected person is not a good person for a country,” Prof Ngoma said.

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