Friday, March 29, 2024

Ban on the use of Government transport in the civil service is a cost-saving measure-Sakeni

Share

Minister of Home Affairs Kennedy Sakeni
Minister of Home Affairs Kennedy Sakeni

CHIEF Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni says the ban on the use of Government transport in the civil service is a cost-saving measure.

Mr Sakeni, who is also Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, says Government decided to ban the use of transport in the public sector to reduce expenditure on fuel, as well as on the procurement of vehicles.

He said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the ban will not affect service delivery in the civil service.

Mr Sakeni said Government is aware that some civil servants have cried foul over the ban, but they should understand that the money that will be saved will be channelled to other development programmes, which will help to improve living standards.

He said people should not just rush into condemning the decision to ban the use of Government transport in the civil service because the benefits of this decision will be evident in due course.

“We are aware that some people are crying foul about this development but what they should be aware of is that this is purely a cost-saving measure.

“We want to ensure that the money realised out of this important decision is channelled to other development programmes,” Mr Sakeni said.

He said Government had recognised that the use of Government transport in the public sector was only benefiting civil servants in urban areas.

Mr Sakeni said it is disappointing that some people are condemning the decision taken by Government on the basis that it might affect service delivery, instead of appreciating the efforts the authorities are taking to improve service delivery across the country.

He said Government will not condone or tolerate workers in the public service who will use the decision to ban the use of government vehicles as an excuse to report for work late.

Mr Sakeni said the decision to ban the use of Government transport in the civil service was done in good faith and should be commended by all well-meaning Zambians, as it will save the country some money.

Government, in June this year, banned the use of government transport to ferry workers to and from work, after effecting a transport allowance of 10 percent of the basic salary.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

38 COMMENTS

  1. Good move. There is too much abuse of resources in the conman service. In my view there is no service delivery going on there. The only civil servants who matter are teachers/lecturers, health professionals and security personnel (especially police). Anyone else is just a drain on resources. Instead of delivering services, they are busy conning the public out of their hard earned money. We are saddled with an outdated institution that the country no longer needs.

  2. Stupid explanation. You could have saved costs if you did not increase president’s and minister’s salaries which is a bigger drain on paltry resources. The clowns can not tell the rear of a donkey from his mouth!!

  3. Makes sense though.GRZ employees are known for abusing the vehicles which are always packed at night spots and some even take them for hunting.
    First policy made that i agree wholly from the PF led government.

  4. this is an exercise in futility if the said ban is not extended to the same ministers. they all have these parliamentary vehicles which they should use to go to work and then fly the flags during the day. at 5pm, park the govt vehicles and drive back home with parliamentary personal cars. 

    instead, ministers and permanent secretaries each have 3 vehicles servicing them. where is the fairness here. we support the ban but it must be complete. if anything these ministers and PSs actually get hefty allowances TO BUY FUEL for the same govt vehicles they dont want civil servants to use to go to work in.

  5. Iwe chi long tongue sakeni,minister’s children should also stop using grz vehicles to take them to school’s we can as well save on fuel.

  6. :-\”How about you ministers are you going to continue to use govt vehicles for your transport? in some cases use gvt vehicles to go ku show grounds to dance with Fally Ipupa’s dancing queens…..Nifunsako chabe?

  7. By so doing, this govt is just encouraging corruption as civil servants now have to find a way of surviving. like at the ministry of foreign affairs, the tender committee tasked with the responsibility of moving these recalled diplomats are getting kick backs from the process of relocation fellow civil servants. The tender committee are getting extra fake  quotations from shippers based locally. As a result, they are getting gratification for favouring the local shippers.This is deep rooted corruption which is benefiting top management in the ministry. But all the blame is on this PF govt which is visionless and cluess.

  8. Iwe Sakeni, is increasing deputy ministers from one to two /three per ministry a cost saving measure? Too much double standards in Zed.

  9. @Sage. Whatever you are on I want some! Seriously though please don’t be petty. This is a good move by government. No more using GRZ vehicles to buy castle/mosi, michopo or mbuzi. 

  10. Its a welcome move but its still a drain. People now arrive late for work. Classfied Daily Employees (CDE’s) are given ZMK130,000 as transport allowance. Assume one leaves in Matero, how long can they use this amount, when one route is 3,500 or chelstone one route 4,500? The best idea would have been to introduce big buses per route to pick government workers to various locations. CDE’s are supplementing government to take themselves to work as the money given to them is not enough. Fuel will still be abused what ever the case. I am always suddened when I think of how drivers from the Government frequent Matero, Chilenje, Kalingalinga , Garden etc to go and siphon fuel and sell. This is largely to the fact that fuel is given or issued without attaching the distance covered.

  11. #1 AND SOME OF YOUR COLLEAGUES, THE ISSUE IS NOT ABOUT Mr SAKENI’S BEARD. FOLLOW THE TOPIC. IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW ONE DECIDES TO GROOM THEMSELVES. WHAT MATTERS IS SERVICE DELIVERY. I WONDER WHY ALMOST ALWAYS THAT STUPID COMMENTS ALWAYS COME FROM PEOPLE IN DIASPORA. ONE WOULD THINK OTHERWISE, BUT ALAS, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. WHEN ONE READS THE COMMENTS FROM BLOGGERS LIVING IN ZAMBIA THEY ARE FULL OF REASONING, WISDOM AND INTELLECT. KEEP IT UP ZAMBIANS IN ZAMBIA.

  12. NOW COMING TO THE TOPIC. BANNING TRANSPORT TO FERRY CIVIL SERVANTS TO AND FROM WORK IS A DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BEST DECISION GOVT HAS MADE. TRANSPORT IS A HUGE DRAIN ON GOVT REVENUE. AS THE MINISTER HAS SAID, SAVED MONEY WILL BE CHANNELED TO SERIOUSLY NEEDY DEVELOPMENTAL PROJECTS. HOWEVER, SERIOUSLY THIS ACTION SHOULD ALSO BE EXTENDED TO GOVT MINISTER, PERMANENT SECRETARIES, ETC. OR AT LEAST, INSTEAD OF ONE MINISTER AND/OR PERM SEC HAVING MORE ONE VEHICLE, THOSE VEHICLES SHOULD BE CUT DOWN TO ONE. FURTHER MORE THAT ONE VEHICLE MUST BE PARKED AT GOVT BUILDINGS AFTER WORKING HOURS WHICH ARE NORMALLY BETWEEN 8am AND 5pm. THIS IS WHAT THE BOTSWANA GOVT HAS DONE. NO ONE MINISTER OR PERM SEC IS ALLOWED TO USE GOVT VEHICLE OUTSIDE WORKING HOURS LET ALONE PARKING THEM AT THEIR RESIDENCES. THEY…

  13. …THEY GO TO WORK USING THEIR PERSONAL VEHICLES AND BACK HOME USING THEIR PERSONAL VEHICLES LEAVING THEIR OFFICIAL VEHICLES PARKED AT WORK. IN THIS WAY THERE IS MINIMUM MAINTENANCE COST AS VEHICLES ARE NOT OVERUSED. UNNECESSARY REFUELING IS NON-EXISTENCE. IF THEY CAN’T AFFORD BUYING OWN CARS- THAT’S WHY THERE’S PUBLIC TRANSPORT. THEY CAN USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO AND FROM WORK. CIVIL SERVANTS IN THE UK DO THAT.

    THE ONLY WORKERS WHO ENTITLED TO TRANSPORT WHETHER IT’S IN GOVT OR PRIVATE SECTOR ARE UTILITY WORKERS SUCH AS PLUMBERS, GAS INSTALLATIONS TECHNICIANS (THERE ARE MANY GAS SUPPLY COMPANIES), WATER (THAMES WATER) AND ELECTRICITY (THERE ARE MANY ELECTRICITY SUPPLY COMPANIES), TELECOMS COMPANIES, ICT COMPANIES, ETC. THESE WORKERS ARE EVEN ALLOWED TO GO HOME WITH THESE UTILITY…

  14. …VEHICLES AS THEY ARE ON CALL 24/7. IN SHORT LET MINISTERS, PERMANENT SECRETARIES, CIVIL SERVANTS AND OTHER GOVT WORKERS USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT OR THEIR PERSONAL CARS TO AND FROM WORK. ONLY DOCTORS, POLICE OFFICERS AND OTHER VERY ESSENTIAL WORKERS SHOULD BE ENTITLED TO VEHICLES 24/7.

    BEFORE, I LIVED IN THE FIRST WORLD I USED TO THINK THIS IDEA OF PERSONAL TO HOLDER VEHICLE idea WAS FROM THE FIRST WORLD- UK IN THIS CASE. IN FACT THAT PHRASE (‘personal-to-holder’) IS NOT EVEN KNOWN HERE. SO, WHY SHOULD A POOR COUNTRY LIKE ZAMBIA BE SO EXTRAVAGANT?

  15. IT IS ONLY (PERHAPS) WHEN MINISTERS AND OTHER CIVIL SERVANTS START TRAVELING ON PUBLIC COMMUTER TRANSPORT TO AND FROM WORK (AS IS COMMON HERE IN THE UK) THAT OUR COMMUTER TRANSPORT WILL IMPROVE IN TERMS OF THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF OUR BUSES AND (TRAINS AND TRAMS), AND LOGISTICALLY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. BECAUSE, THE MINI-BUSES THAT ARE CURRENTLY USED ARE SO INDIGNIFYING TO THE COMMUTERS TO A LEVEL WHERE COMMUTERS THEMSELVES ARE TREATED LIKE PIG BEING TRANSPORTED TO AN ABATTOIR FOR SLAUGHTER. THESE BUSES HAVE NO PROVISION NOT EVEN FOR A WHEELCHAIR FOR DISABLED PERSONS, NO PROVISIONS WHERE COMMUTERS PUT THEIR SHOPPING WHILE IN TRANSIT, NO REASONABLE SPACES. COMMUTERS ARE JUST QUASHED. IF A TRANSPORT MINISTER OR ANY, TRAVELS ON THIS BUSES S/HE MIGHT THINK TWICE.

  16. WHAT MAKES ME WONDER AND COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT OUR MINISTERS ARE REALLY STU.PID IS THAT THE SAME MINISTER COME TO THESE CIVILIZED COUNTRIES AND HAPPILY AND EXCITEDLY USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT BUT CONTRIBUTE NOTHING WHEN THEY GO BACK TO ZAMBIA TOWARDS THE COMMUTER TRANSPORT IMPROVEMENT. LAWS MUST BE ENACTED FOR COMMUTER TRANSPORT ESPECIALLY IN OUR BIG CITIES TO CHANGE AND IMPROVE. BUT AS LONG AS OUR MINISTERS AND PERM SECs MOVE IN LUXURIOUS EXPENSIVE CARS, GRASS-ROOTS SERVICES ARE NEVER GOING TO IMPROVE IN ZAMBIA. THE SAME THING APPLIES TO PRESIDENTS, MINISTERS AND THE OFF-SPRINGS TRAVELLING ABROAD/OVERSEAS FOR MEDICAL AND ACADEMIC SERVICES.

  17. Mushota I wrote to you yesterday asking for your hand in marriage. I like your comments and you are my idol. Never mind about Dirty Zambia. I am also in the Daispora with no intention of going back to a place full of flies

  18. You yourself did hand over the car? You want others to stop using the cars while you yourself you get fuel allowance which is more than the the lowest paid civil servants and you use Govt vihecle to your own programs.

  19. Yeah, you pf guys are the worst hypocrites you ban the misuse of govt. vehicles which is fine but go on and award yourselves hefty salaries and allowances, you carry whole families and cadres on important GRZ foreign trips and you say want improve service delivery. What a shame!

  20. This story is as usual very vague-poor reporting. What exactly is being banned? The use of govt cars by civil servants? The use of government cars for personal errands? The use of cars such as ambulances by civil servants?

  21. Its just ironic that he is talking about cost-saving when they are happy to increase their own wages; saving costs starts from the top down to use of staples. These guys should be implementing simple innovative measures like flexible time schedules to increase productivity in some departments, introduce 8-4, 9-5, 10-6 time shifts schedules especially in customer facing departments.     

  22. I like the new cultue. Dirty looking ndevu or to use their language dirty looking umwefu. This guy’s beared looks like a used mutton cloth. Big man if you wanted to save government money you should not have incresed your salaries by over 100%. Look you gave yourselves 100% and civil servants whom you are denying transport only less than 15%. does this make sense sir? If it does then you are living in afools paradise! You are just liars and selfish. Irest my case!

  23. Countrymen, it is a step in the right direction but it would assit if we can be told how much is expected to be saved and then to which developmental projects such savings would go to

  24. It would be interesting to analyze how much money has been saved by the ban say, 6 months from date of effect… while it is appreciated that the efforts to save Zambia money should be commended, this ban should have been coupled with very good alternatives; better road network and public transport for all areas, facility for senoir members of the public service not entitled to GRZ vehicles to purchase their own cars, i.e improved credit worthiness through improved salaries and last but not least, a demonstration by Ministers, Directors and Permanent Secretaries of good faith by also restricting thier use of GRZ vehicles!!
    Concerned, hard working civil servant

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading