President Michael Sata’s recent cabinet reshuffles are meaningless because he merely shifted the same old non-performing individuals from one ministry to the other instead of replacing them with more competent individuals.
It is not a secret that the president reshuffled his cabinet due to the poor performance of his cabinet. But shifting these same underperforming individuals from one ministry to the other is not a recipe for change. It is like shifting rotten groundnuts from one part of the mouth to the other and hoping that somehow the bitter taste will go away.
It does not work that way. What His Excellency, the President should do is to summon the moral courage and fire those incompetent ministers and replace them with competent people who will help drive the economic agenda forward.
This country has no shortage of qualified and visionary men and women who can diligently help the president run the government effectively and efficiently and help bring down the misery of poverty and the agony of unemployment that many of our people are enduring.
According to Article 50 of our Republican Constitution, the functions of Cabinet Ministers are as follows:
1. To formulate policy of the government and,
2. To advise the president with respect to the policy of the government
Looking at the functions of Cabinet Ministers it goes without saying that it is prudent for the president to appoint professional men and women who are competent enough to fully understand and discharge their responsibilities as ministers. Men and women who are competent enough to formulate sound and appropriate policies that can foster social and economic change. Men and women who have the spine to look the president in the eye and advise him without fear.
By Antonio Mwanza
FDD Spokeperson
Decent people will not risk working in uncertain environments.
Those groundnuts that beautiful woman is selling are not rotten. I will sue on her behalf.
Ki ki ki, what an illustration ! Reshuffling rotten nuts , he he he. You really made me laugh.
I’d be worried if those two mentioned above are the ONLY functions of a minister in Zambia. I thought they should more broadly include:
1. Disseminating the ministry’s policies to stakeholders, including the general public
2. Accounting to parliament on the implementation of govt policy
3. Setting systems and controls(especially financial controls) to enable efficient and effective running of their ministries! Etc
As usual, even when FDD condemns Sata, it is never their president Edith Nawakwi. She will never condemn Sata i promise you. she will condemn, everybody in pf but never sata. I dont know what game Nawakwi is playing. Watch her!!!
Ba FDD, can you name just one or two individuals in PF that you refer to as “qualified and visionary men and women who can diligently help the president run the government effectively and efficiently and help bring down the misery of poverty and the agony of unemployment that many of our people are enduring”?
FDD leave the President alone. Should he panic and follow your jealousy advice, you will be the one to say that he has over-nominated MPs. Of the reshuffled Ministers it is only the over qualified and experienced Economic Consultant Sichinga who is a nominated MP, the rest were elected Hon. MPs. Chenda as former Town Clerk suits to head Local Government. Dr. Katema is humble cool-headed and less over-ambitious, he is a Medical Doctor and suits to be spokesperson. All my 32 years in civil service till retirement 10 years ago I worked in Community Development Ministry, certainly Ms. Kabanshi would suit there. Hon. Kapeya has a degree in Law to be assited by Lawyer Suuba and would manage Lands Ministry. Hon. Simuusa is an engineer but hails from the foodbasket cattle keeping area …
….as alluded to above Hon. Simuusa comes from the agricultural home area and would perform to improve our Agriculture better, Hon. Kalaba has been talking too much on Land audit without much conviction and almost messed up with most Land owners, let him go to Foreign Affairs to cool down because he is young and ambitious, he could learn the ropes from there and become a proper leader in future like Vernon and RB learnt leadership in the past from Foreign trips and interactions with the civilized world. Please let the President enjoy his remaining 2 years, after all this was the first major cabinet reshuffle he has done. I beleive you are not hoping to have a female nominated from FDD to replace Hon. Masebo.
My friend ask our renowned correspondent Field Ruwe even in United States of America and all over the world poverty and unemployment exists affecting people of all races. When I was in the USA in the 80s I felt poverty there as more painful within a land of wealth and plenty of opportunities. Here even the poor have or could have land or space to exist, there the poor are entitled only to sleeping under bridges and in the parks as well as put on welfare food-stamps. I found the same in Paris France, on my way from Charles de Gaulle Airport I spotted a shanty compound by the road side, I was amazed! Can you compare the poverty and over-crowded shanties or villages in India or South Africa to our situation? Travelling and experience are the best teachers!
ba innocent chimfutumba, what is the uncivilised world if there is a civilised world. You are just one of those people who think they are well learned, using and repaeting jargon from the so called western world to undermine and relegate your own people to mere savages without you stopping to think what it is the words you use actually mean!!! education iyi mwandini, its the biggest scam.People getting PhDs in all sorts of fields, but still manipulated by a system to think in a certain type of way as prescribed by the so called western world. We are not independent until we have a mental revolution deep within ourselves,when we finally kill the little white boy and white girl in us, that was planted by the so called western world and its propaganda.Am a Garveyite and viva pan africanism
Mr. Mwanza you have said wise words but there lies the problem the men and women you refer to are not there in the PF as a party! All those chaps in PF are people without self respect and are only there to eat!!! No self respecting individual will accept to work with Ukwa who has no manners and can undress you in public from the blues!!
Is there any aspirant politician from any Political Party who is not in it for food? All the Opposition Leaders once in Govt they would forget us and just start eating. This is human nature because in African Politics poverty of the stomach is what pushes people to want to be presidents. In the civilized world Presidents come from a crop of people who could have made their own money honestly, and just come to provide leadership for love of the country and service to mankind. In Africa the few rich people wishing to become presidents want at all cost to have power to protect their amassed ill-gotten wealth and even become more richer! How many rich opposition leaders are already using their wealth to develop the nation or their own home villages and improve life for their relatives? Non!
We do have examples from our history and the list can be extended just to mention a few for your education:
1. HE Levy P Mwanawasa, the best President this nation has ever had so far; 2. Sikatana once minister of Agriculture, who help turn this country into food heaven; 3. Dean Mung’oma, the man who believed in us having a new constitution so much to a point of being persecuted by the then govt.
People in politics for food are there, and field examples from most of PF MPs if not all, declared useless by their boss, Mukombwe and Willie Sanda having said so themselves. Hopefully this will help you and your kind
True dat!
Hahahahahahahahahaha, the headline says it all
HEHEHEHEHEHE I can’t stop laughing rolling on the floor.
Antonio the only thing the president can do is appoint intelligent and credible people outside PF otherwise to be factual reshuffles must start from him the President going to the last born in the cabinet. Just look at Guy Scot, Wynter, Alexander………..!!!!! The S.hit has hit the fun and we will all get messed up in Zambia. My heart bleeds.
May be it is time we limited opportunities for people like the Veep and Finance Minister, they are quite useful yet appear burnt-out almost out-living usefulness. Mr. Chikwanda was once a young flamboyant Finance Minister during UNIP days and became successful businessman and golfer. He looks tired. Guy was once young effective Agriculture Minister, he looks tired, spare him. These experienced old guys can only suit to be presidents not Ministers. Now that the presidency is effectively occupied by a first time president, then we can just have these guys retired in public interest and replaced by new blood or crop of Ministers who have never had opportunity before to serve in such capacities.
FDD is still their, even after the NAWAKWI GIRL has never been closer to plot 1? EVEN HH who has been a perpetual number 3 cannot issue such hollow statements. Please let meaningfull parties issue statements not tukoloboyi tubena FDD
….’look the President into the eye and advise him without FEAR’..I like that bit
Reshuffles…reshuffles ,..this reminds me of a footballer who wanted to end up a coach at whatever cost……his passion for coaching was greatly inspired by the way his coach used to substitute players during a match, the power and liberty his coaches had to ‘reshuffle’ players at will, inspired by the way his coaches felt in command, supreme and worshipped by his players.. Somehow, he managed to become a coach for a moderate team…..ooh boy…every weekend…he made sure he utilised his powers to substitute including the goalkeeper without even understanding why…Guess what, the team is now in relegation zone. Supporters are up in arms. Next club executive meeting to determine his fate is in 2016
He has a passion for appointing relatives, everyone knows that relatives are the worst people to trust, even on your farm or kantemba. That will be his downfall RELATIVES.
The sad thing is that when he’s out of statehouse, they will distance themselves from him. I wish Kaseba could advise him.
But big boobs Kasebanya is the one encouraging him.
Mr. Sata himself has aptly called his ministers “useless”. They are the same ones he is moving around. The poverty for brain power in PF is devastating and astonishing.
Ka Antonio Mwanza nakeena! Ubupuba. Chisense na monk sausage ya pa UNZA yalikufulunganya. Plus nemichene after ba police ba kuma. Walemoneka kwati ni Tom muli Tom and Jerry. Kabiye uka paunde masters. Kano fye amapolitics. Lobe
Ka Antonio Mwanza ukutemwa monk sausage na chisense yapa UNZA. Maybe monk Sos yalikufulunganya. Amapolitics waliyatemwa ayi? Ukambikeko my line.
Question….What do you call a leader who fails to recognise an incompetent follower ? Answer….Micheal C Sata
Good observation but unfortunately it is like trying to squeeze out milk from a rock. What is rotten is the head in our state. Solution is to simply have the PF park their bags and go, some to prison.
RESHUFFLES. PF TO CONSIDER MAGANDE NGANDU TO COME AND ASSIST THEM TO RESTORE THE KWACHA RATE AT K3000/USDOLLAR PRIOR TO THE DEATH OF OUR PRESIDENT LP [ MHSRIP]. CHIKWANDA SEEMS NOT TO BE FOCUSED. EVERY TIME HE IS JUST THINKING OF BORROWING. WHEN HH TELLS THEM THAT , THAT IS A BAD WAY OF DOING BUSINESS THEY TELL HIM OR CALL HIM NAMES. SO AS WE STAND TODAY HH HAS PROVED TO THEM THAT THE MANAGEMENT WAY OF DOING BUSINESS HAS BEEN GREATLY MISPLACED. THIS ADMITANENCE HAS BEEN DONE WHEN GREAT DAMAGE TO THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN DONE.VIVA HH. VIVA UPND. VIVA ZAMBIANS 2016 IS AREAL YEAR OF CHANGE.