PENSIONERS in Serenje District in Central Province have advised President Edger Lungu to allow the Public Service Commission to appoint Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners.
Zambia National Pensioners Association (ZANAPA) chairman in Serenje District, Ewen Chansa said this in an interview in Serenje District today.
He was flanked by other association members that included the Vice Chairperson Mr Ernest Daka and the Secretary Mr Kaemba Lukwesa .
Mr. Chansa said there is need for the country to revert to the old system by having Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners appointed by the Public Service Commission instead of the Republican President.
He said Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners are the engine of government therefore they do not have serve with fear of the president.
The Association President said Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners under the Current mode of appointment may not be as productive as they are supposed to be because they serve with fear of the president.
Mr Chansa said when Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners are appointed by the Public Service Commission, they would not be fired when there is change of presidency.
He further said the country has lost a lot of skilled and experienced Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners after they were fired by the new presidency.
A very fair request. Civil Servants looked forward to progression to P.S. But what they get now is a person, who either knows nothing about the civil service or failed and starving politicians being appointed to this important position.
Imagine technocrats working under an illiterate thug like Stardy Mwale as their Permanent Secretary. That’s laughable!!!
When was and who changed the law? What were the reasons for change? Personally I have no quarrel with which ever way it goes
That is a genuine concern. New presidents sack or interchange them unnecesarily. They take politics everywhere especially if the predecessor was from a different political party. (remember africans perceive party variation as political enemity). They even appoint non-performers and remove active people to quench their political thirst. Without politicising the current affairs in Zambia, lets give credit where its due.
We experienced this at zambia state insurance when LPM came to power he removed our dynamic CEO and it has taken close to ten years for our company to return to normality why do politicians behave like thugs?
Blame the confusion on wrong appointments on late (former) President for his dictatorial tendencies, who in the process usurped the powers of many public offices. That was the man who, as his first task in office, mistakenly nominated 10 people to parliament instead of the maximum 8 which the republican president is allowed. This is how we witnessed late Nsanda being appointed and stripped of a ministerial position within one day after the president was advised that he had gone beyond his threshold. That was the same president who single-handedly and personally appointed everyone in the foreign service, majority of whom were his relatives. This list of mistakes he made is long, and indeed its time these mistakes were corrected.
Good observation there from the pensioners. I strongly second your motion sirs!
What is this Pensioners Association there for? Is it there to worry about appointments of PSs why? Instead of bargaining for pensioners’s meaningful increament they are just fattening themselves malabishi abantu.
Let Permanent Secretaries, Secretary to the Cabinet/Deputies and Parastatal Chiefs apply to the relevant bodies and compete on merit for the jobs.
As LONG AS THESE ARE CADRES THEY WILL ALWAYS BE DISMISSED. GOOD IDEA BECAUSE THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS VERY FRUSTRATING TO SERVING CIVIL SERVANTS WHO CANNOT BE PROMOTED TO THESE POSITIONS,AS THEY ARE RESERVES OF CADRES
PLEASE CAN WE REMOVE CADREISM OF THE CIVIL SERVICES ,WHY SHUD PIPO WITH NO QUALIFICATIONS BE APPOINTED TO SUCH HIGHER POSITIONS IN THE CIVIL SERVICES FOR WHICH THEY ARE NOT QUALIFIED. FOR INSTANCE DEPUTY PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR COPPERBELT PROVINCE MR ELIAS KAMANGA,WHOSE CONTRACT AS DC FOR KITWE ENDED,IS A PURE PF CADRE WHO HAS NEVER WORKED IN THE CIVIL SERVICES