GOVERNMENT will soon categorise types of official vehicles to be used by various officers in an effort to cut down on costs.
Communications, Transport, Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa Mukanga disclosed this in Parliament yesterday saying no officer will be allowed to drive the same or more expensive type of vehicle as their superiors.
“If the Vice-President will be using the latest Toyota GX, then other senior Government officials like ministers, permanent secretaries will have to go for either Prados, or Pajeros because we want to reduce on the high cost of maintenance and fuel,” Mr Mukanga said.
The minister said Government was currently working out modalities to arrive at the models and how they would be spread out. Mr Mukanga said excess Government vehicles would be sold.[pullquote]Sometimes you would find a GRZ vehicle on a wedding line up and they just cover the number plate with a logo saying newly married. This is total abuse and should be stopped[/pullquote]
He also announced that numbers of the current Government Controlling Officers will be beefed-up and these will work closely with State police in carrying out patrols.
He said drivers found abusing vehicles will be penalised.
He was speaking when he winded up debate on the report of the Committee on Communications, Transport, Works and Supply presented by Senga Hill MP, Kapambwe Simbao (MMD).
Debating on the motion before it was adopted, PF Chongwe MP, Sylvia Masebo, supported the report and said that there was massive abuse of Government vehicles as some employees ignored the standing orders.
Ms Masebo was happy with President Michael Sata for demonstrating real example of commitment by ensuring that abuse of Government facilities such as vehicles was weeded out to foster cost saving.
“The standing orders are clear on who should have personal-to-holder vehicles. It is gratifying to see Government trying to correct some of these wrongs that occurred in previous regimes,” she said.
Ms Masebo said President Sata’s move to appoint more women in higher positions was a commendable job because women were more committed to work.
She said the two women judges appointed to run the judicial affairs was an imperative development that would foster significant reforms and bring sanity in the Judiciary.
PF Bahati MP, Harry Kalaba said stringent measures should be implemented by Government to prevent abuse of Government facilities such as fuel which was misused by some employees.
“Sometimes you would find a GRZ vehicle on a wedding line up and they just cover the number plate with a logo saying newly married. This is total abuse and should be stopped,” he said.
The House later adopted the report.
The use of expensive GRZ vehicles should not depend on who’s boss and who’s not! All civil servants should start using the same cheap-to-run type of vehicles, or better still, start using bicycles!
GRZ must come to Botswana to learn how Batswana have succeded in managing government vehicles and property. In Botswana even Ministers do not have personal to holder vehicles. They only use official vehicles for official business. During their free time they use their own vehicles. Civil servants are encouraged to obtian loans from commerccial banks to purchase their own vehicles. This can also be done in Zambia.
POINT!
That’s teh way to go. Pay civil servants wages high enough so they can have car loans.
An Eye For An Eye,
You have a point please try to suggest this point to the Budget People at Ministry of Finance.
Dollar
My opinion is that there are far too many GRZ vehicles that are not used for intended purposes. The govt spends a lot of money on insurance and maintenance (fuel). The total number of vehicles needs to be reduced beyond 50%. Compare with other countries in the region, e.g Botswana, govt vehicle are only driven on official business and are never taken taken home (no personal to holders). In Zambia almost all civil servants have personal to holder, some registered as GRZ, while others with private plates. It is just incredible how wasteful we can be. Yet we say we are a poor nation. I think the civil service needs to be re-formulated on Transport / vehicle management i.e. who uses, who has, for what purposes
I have always wondered why people (civil servants) are allowed to park GRZ vehicles at home! This present ample opportunity for abuse. Apart from, say, Ministers and heads of departments, no civil servant should be allowed to drive home after work (including weekends) in a govt issued vehicle.
Most of these people can afford their own personal cars anyway! So why can’t they drive to work/office in their own private cars and during the course of their shift, 8am to whatever, they can use a govt issued vehicle for offical duties. If they don’t have a private car (which I doubt nowadays in Zambia) let them jump on a minibus to/from work like everybody else.
Implement such a system and watch how abusive behaviour towards govt property will drop—including the misuse of fuel!
@ an eye for an eye…. what you have said is same with india ministers use very simple cars,same make and same colour and only on duty, after work they use their personal cars……so this can also happen in zed, and if developing countries can do that what about us who are just limping?
What (if any?) are the current rules or systems for controlling use of “personal to holder” vehicles? It pisses me off each time I see a GRZ vehicle dropping off family members for shopping, running children to school, parked outside the tavern, or doing God knows what else on Saturdays and Sundays. None of this is official and there should be a phone number people can call to report abuse of our tax money!
#2 HAS SAID IT ALL. THAT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE.
Learn from India all government officials from the prime minister to the least official drive the same car ( Hindustan ambassador cars).
Stop useless high powered presidential foreign travel with opposition members.
THIS WILL SAVE MONEY.
use skype internet or the resident zambian diplomats to do the job.
I suggest all government vehicles be it for ministers, directors, pool vehicles be of uniform colour. That will curtail rampant abuse at awkward hours. These days every Jim and Jack can afford a car from Japan, there’s too much obsession with personal to holder cars. The money being spent is too much.
#2, #5 & #8 Good posts. Too many govt vehicles for little official use and more personal use! Address that, the Botswan or India way and we will yield tangible results
THE POLICE AND HOSPITALS ARE MORE IMPORTANT IN HAVING TRANSPORT.ALL GOVERNMENT WORKERS SHOULD STOP HAVING PERSONAL TO HOLD . LEARN FROM OTHER GOVRNMENTS IN THE WORLD . YOU USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IF YOU CANT OFFORD YOUR OWN CAR. IT IS LONG OVER DUE.
too many brands of vehicles can be a cost. how can a govt department have a 1998 toyota mark 2 car? Govt should have only one or two brands as was the case with ZCCM. they had those boxed shaped coronas and hilux.
“Excess government vehicles will be sold” the zambian government as a WHOLE has never had or will never have excess vehicles. It`s only that some ministries have more vehicles than others, so instead of selling the so called “excess vehicles” it better you give some to the police in order to maximise their mobility and effectiveness….and of course turn some into ambulances, for we are lucking in these areas! Gud move but we need to think beyond the horizons
As a nation we have not been good at reducing waste. The mindset ati fya GRZ comes from UNIP days when every govt vehicle belonged to every citizen. People would plan a jouney with no money, simply hoping to flag down a GRZ Land Rover. LOL
Please check abuse of hospital ambulances and Fire engines also. Some officers use them for personal business. Long ago some shops burned down in Ndola while a the Fire Engine had gone to drop a bag of mealie meal at somebody’s house. There were no cell phones then. Some ambulances become personal to holder vehicles for some big people at hospitals.
You people! Ever heard of conditions of service? If their conditions of service entitles them,stop hating.The minister’s proposal is so shallow and ancient compounded by pettiness,no one should drive a vehicle as expensive as his/her boss? Is that a priority honestly.Find ways of regulating govt transport not that nonsense.Masebo contribution lacks basic intelligence anyway HE needs a choir.
Actually China is also working on streamlining govt fleet of vehicles.
In Zambia we should make 1st option as car loan, 2nd personal to holder.
#2, I wish you were the Minister and not these useless despots we have in government who don’t have priorities. Why should Zambian Ministers drive better cars than their counterparts in more developed countries like Australia. The prime Minister isn’t even driven in the “latest” GX. She uses an Australian made car a commodore. Use government cars for official use only.
Great now attack the councils, they do far much worse.
The real control would only come when no government official is allowed to use GRZ vehicles after work hours except when out of the station. People use these vehicles to visit friends and ferry personal goods at will. Even drivers are now paid transport allowance, why allow them take cars near their homes? People should not be eating with both hands.
GRZ vehicle concept is an old way of doing things, Give all public leaders travel allowances as part of their salary, GX & Prado does not mean anything, let them buy their own vehicles of choice, on loan from banks, they will then care for them. If something is free always Human behavior to abuse. Why do you buy these vehicles? Operations have now gone for lease options i.e for pool vehicles. We call it OPEX option rather than CAPEX?????? Call us we will come help you put up a long term cost serving solution??
Sheikh,
I love your plan it is more professional and i would suggest that you give this plan to the Budget Planning office at ministry of Finance office for implementation.
Dollar
good move by PF. let these good for nothing civil servants cycle or walk to their workplaces. most of them are rarely found in their offices.all they know of dissemination, sensitization, mid term review, planning, mainstreaming (whatever this means), scoping, budget speech writing etc workshops. these characters are too wasteful. mwanya you will freeze the hell to your offices ba makaka.
it really is disheartening to read all sorts of comments attacking civil servants. look at the JD and also check out the system from Presidente to cleaner for you to be able control abuse of govt vehicles. how much is spent on entourage by top govt leaders? it’s for you to check and answer. abuse is there in govt it needs to be controlled.
@#22, Conman, you must be a disgruntled and sidelined civil servant! All that you know, which you have mentioned above, is typical civil service language! Only an insider can know that much of BOMA language. Or you must be married to a civil servant, and he or she is never home to service you!
work mostly is in rural areas but most of the vehicles are stationed at headquarters in lusaka and major towns or provincial offices where the so-called senior staff and leaders are misusing as well abusing.
Buy a new vehicle for Siavonga DEBS.
Wrong reasoning Mr. Minister. A mitsubishi can even be more costly to maintain than a latest Toyota GX and might even consume more fuel though cheaper to procure. Think of other better cost saving vehicles.
Some of you commenting on the issue of vehicles are just petty, silly and shallow minded. How many private companies and NGOs, parastatals are giving their employees vehicles. look around, why should it be so tough only for civil servants to drive a GRZ vehicle. Start thinking well and be reasonable. Some of you its just petty jealous, stop the rote.
Tepwanji,
You sound like you are one of the people abusing the Vehicles.We are talking about cost Saving so that money can be channeled to productive ventures in the public service such as Roads,Hospitals,Schools and the like.
Dollar
ABUSE OF GRZ VEHICLES IS SO REAL AND SO OPEN NOW. PEOPLE NO LONGER EVEN HAVE FEAR THAT ITS NOT THEIR VEHICLE. AM ALSO A SIVIL SERVANT AND I TEL YOU SOME SOUL CALLED SUPPERIORS CAN REALLY MISUSE VEHICLE. AT MY DISTRICT, A DRIVER EVEN HAS MORE POWERS OVER THE VEHICLE THAN US OFFICERS TO AN EXTENT THAT HE PARKS AT HIS OWN DETERMINED PLACE NEAR HIS HOME, PICKS UP BOSS CHILDREN TO AND FRO SCHOOL ETC. i CAN GO ON. WE HAVE SEEN ALOT. GIVE OFFICERS IN THE VILLAGES MORE TRANSPORT SUPPORT. THEY ARE THE ONES DOING THE GREATEST JOB, AND I MEAN THOSE IN VILLAGES.
rEDUCE ON VEHICLES AT HQS AND PROVINCIAL CENTRES. iMPLEMENT THIS PLEA…….SE AND THE GRT WILL SAVE ON MAINTENANCE, DRIVER ALLOWANCES AND FUEL COSTS. ……………………………….I CAN GO ON AND ON
what will happen to the drivers when vehicle fleet is reduced? Are we going to retire them or redeploy them? Are we not negating the promise of job creation?
Let us use our brains in addressing national problems and not our hearts or emotions. Lets us reserve our hearts and emotions for romantic situations. There are better ways of reducing GRZ vehicles abuse. One will regret the day they will wish they had transport to ferry cadres to boost a poorly attended rally.
This is avery good move by the Pf government. Well done guys….!!!
absolute mess. What we need are vehicle policies that will compel all drivers or GVT VEHICLES to pack OR BE PACKED at disgnated areas after work. No vehicle should be driven after working hours. we need discipline NOW!!!!! GATHER AND SELL ALL VEHICLES AND REPLACE WITH FUEL EFFICIENT SMALL CARS FOR USE. WE CAN SAVE HUGE SUMS OF MONEY THAT CAN BE USED FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FOR OUR YOUTH
nonsense..how many times have we heard such statements..?
stop interest free INTEREST LOANS aswell. we need fair play. let all get loans from the bank. WE ALL THAT MONEY TO BE USED TO DEVELOP SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTRES UNDER ZNS
Interesting to know where GRZ finds the money to buy these vehicles when they can’t even organise the purchase of a simple tool to mark white lines on the pitch of the newly built Levy stadium. In the UK most government ministers use public transport to get to work. Save money by investing in safer public transport which will be accessible for all.
am at Euro going for the cup next its the govt vehicles when am finally appointed minister there pliz do not stop this i also want to benefit like my friends
YA-YA-YA-YA-YA……