Friday, March 29, 2024

Only genuine expatriates should come to Zambia-Davies Mwila

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President Edgar Chagwa Lungu with Vice-President Inonge Wina, North Western Province minister, Justice minister Ngosa Simbyakula, Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda, Home affairs Davies Mwila, Tourism minister Jean Kapata , State House Special Assistant to the President for Political affairs Kaiza Zulu, Special Assistand for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda after the Swearing-in-Ceremony at State House on January 26,2015 -Picture by THOMAS NSAMA
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu with Vice-President Inonge Wina, North Western Province minister, Justice minister Ngosa Simbyakula, Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda, Home affairs Davies Mwila, Tourism minister Jean Kapata , State House Special Assistant to the President for Political affairs Kaiza Zulu, Special Assistand for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda after the Swearing-in-Ceremony at State House on January 26,2015 -Picture by THOMAS NSAMA

Newly appointed Home Affairs minister Davies Mwila says he will take keen interest and ensure that only genuine expatriates come to Zambia.

ZANIS reports that Mr Mwila said he will ensure that there will be no disregard for the legal requirement that only expatriates with skills that Zambians do not possess should be engaged.

Mr Mwila said government wants to see that jobs being created for locals were secured by ensuring that work permits are issued to genuine expatriates.

Mr Mwila was speaking during a tripartite meeting with Kalumbila mine management and union leaders from the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union for Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) over the weekend.

He said every company should ensure that there is industrial harmony for them to remain productive.

MUZ vice president Godfrey Kupila complained to the minister that Kalumbila mine management has violated the agreements by dismissing workers that took part in the work stoppage.

Mr Kupila said management gave amnesty to workers that there will be no dismissal but that the action taken was victimizing and intimidating to the workers.

And First Quantum Minerals (FQM) country manager General Kingsley Chinkuli said the firm is committed to engaging in an exchange of views with unions and government on issues that may threaten industrial harmony.

General Chinkuli said there is need for employees to remain committed and not engage in illegal actions.

The minister was at Kalumbila mine on a fact finding mission following reports of four workers that were dismissed for taking part in the work stoppage last month.

63 COMMENTS

    • Yes. This is very important Mr Mwila. Now don’t just talk, implement this action. In other countries, it is near to impossible to even be called for an interview even when you’re more that qualified than the locals. Case in point is Namibia, Botswana or even South Africa now. These countries try by all means possible to block foreigners to get jobs especially in the mining industry. Zambia should protect jobs meant for Zambians. Zambia has been producing graduates since the sixties. For instance in mining industry, we don’t expect expatriates jobs for mining engineers, metallurgists, mine surveyor, geologists, etc. We have enough capable Zambians to do these jobs. But what do we see now, even unqualified expatriates come to do such jobs. Shame. Put strict measures in place.

    • And these so called “expatriates” get work permits from the ministry of home affairs using all forms of corruption

    • @PF cadre and @St…
      This is very true and you’re right. South Africans and Indians have invaded our domain. Its too much. The scenario is such that, Zambians are denied a chance to get jobs in their own countries, all because of these people from India, China, South Africa and other countries. In view of this, Zambians are forced to go and look for jobs in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, etc. But again, Zambians are denied jobs in this countries because they are not citizens of these countries. What results is Zambians are found in a position where they are stranded/unemployed because they can’t get jobs back home and abroad.
      Home affairs ministry needs to be cleaned out to weed out corrupt elements who give work permits corruptly to these foreigners.

    • Even Chinese contractors should be seriously scrutinised. I was very depressed by the poor quality of work that most Chinese Housing contractors are putting up. The quality of work being done at the Silverest Gardens Housing complex is so poor that paint is peeling out even before the units are bought/occupied! It appears the foundations were not water-proofed and the dampness is rising into the wall – seriously weakening these structures, and it’s a very worrying thing coz some of these units are double storey. It’s clear from what I’ve seen at most Chinese construction sites that most of these so-called contractors are actually LEARNING and Zambia is being used as training ground for their own people, and these projects are also an opportunity for them to dump POOR QUALITY…

    • CONTINUATION: … Poor quality materials. SO, FELLOW ZAMBIANS, beware of these houses that full of COSMETIC BEAUTY – MOST OF THEM WON’T LAST….!!!!

    • If you really mean your words bwana minister come to Murray & Roberts and audit other South African Companies.
      School drop outs are being brought in as artisans, disadvantaging the qualified Zambian artisans. Even workmen are coming in with big titles but with no qualifications.
      I don’t want to mention the Chinese because it is a notorious fact.

    • You do realise that after our universities pump out graduates they are not work ready or work orientated? They need experience under the guise of professionals who have been doing those specific job roles for years. Hence the need for expats.

    • MUST THE MINISTER himself go there?

      This is Kambwili style of administration. Tamwaishibe ncito!

      Where are all the subordinate officers, PS, Heads of Dept., etc?

      Bull Crap!

  1. No minister from eastern province.this Edgar is really under siege from Bemba kingdom.atleast for Rupiah we saw the introduction of Maxwell Mwale,Dora,Chipungu etc

    • Be serious and lets discuss this issue. This is not time for politicking. No wonder Zambia is lagging behind because everything you want to politicize.
      This issue Mwila has raised is very serious. In other countries, lower jobs are for foreigners. Only in Zambia do you give top jobs to the so-called expatriates when Zambians have the capacity to do them. Lets protect what we have. Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, South Africa, etc, is doing it, but why is Zambia allowing foreigners to take their jobs? Mwila should clean out the Home Affair ministry which is full of corrupt officials giving work permits to people who don’t deserve top jobs in Zambia.

    • Stop this nonsense of tribal issues at every blog you do.. It’s thee capabilities that count and not where someone hauls.. Wake up you tribalist..

    • You are still living in the dark ages my dear. It’s high time yu stopped looking at tribes by name because people have rebranded. I can be a mweemba but born and bred abroad or a mr tembo born from a lozi or lamba mother and married to a Chinese. I think we have migrated farther than these native tribal issues yu want to bring. If yu ve nothing sensible to post just talk about sex maybe.

    • what a shallow mind you have indeed. Zambia is bigger than tribes let alone regionalism. its capability, competency and effectivenss that matters.

  2. Yes Sir, there are just too many of them, please fish them out. We are probably the most porous country (that is not at war) in the world.

    • Zambia is very porous. Zimbabwe, RSA, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho has tightened up the screws. All jobs are for their citizens. NOT FOR FOREIGNERS unless you deserve it. But why can’t Zambia do the same?

  3. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ALL OUR TOWNS, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE RAILWAY LINE. PLEASE MR. HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER ISSUE AN ORDER FOR IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT TO STEP UP THEIR WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH POLICE SERVICE. IN FACT EVERY TOWN SHOULD HAVE AN IMMIGRATION OFFICE WITH ENOUGH PERSONNEL TO ENSURE THAT SUCH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE SCREENED AND FLUSHED OUT. THEY ARE DOING ANY SORT OF MONEY GENERATING ACTIVITY WHICH A ZAMBIAN IS ENTITLED FOR AND THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR OUR NATION AND OUR PEOPLE. IMAGINE SUCH IMMIGRANTS EVEN SELLING IN STREETS AND HAVING TUNTEMBA! PLEASE INSTRUCT POLICEMEN STOP JUST SITTING IN POLICE STATIONS ALL DAY LONG, WITH NOT EVEN A SINGLE POLICE OFFICER PATROLLING IN TOWN AND COMPOUNDS TO ENSURE ORDER IN OUR TOWNS. POLICE PRESENCE MEANS A LOT TO COMMUNITY.

  4. This is good to always remember when you are even bringing in the so called investors who come with their people and they do not even go through our labor laws. It is actually high time the govt scrutinized the issue of expatriates in Zambian. If a foreigner wants to come and work in Zambia, he/she must be considered an expatriate but simply a job seeker. It saddens me to see my former classmates abroad working with me in Zambia being considered as expatriates while I’m not just because they are foreigners. I hope the govt comes up with a different definition of an expatriate.

  5. @mm le grand patron.what type of jobs do you think zambians are doing in joberg,botswana,USA etc?if they also decide to follow Mwila’s thinking do you thing zambians will benefit? Its a global village .but I still repeat Edgar owe his presidency to bembas nowonder he can’t appoint easterners.like it or not,in zambia tribal balancing is more important than expertise people have.the reason is simple-all tribes have qualified people except tribal balancing makes a difference.

  6. General Chinkuli is a stooge, hired by First Quantum just to get unqualified expats into Zambia.
    Kindly ask him to explain why his Ms Sonia D’Alberto goes to Lusaka Immigration Department from Ndola, every week, carrying a briefcase with an undisclosed sum of US dollars.
    In the process, she obtains work permits for unqualified expats. Guys who do not meet the EIZ basic requirements. There are at least 80 such expats employed by First Quantum at Ndola, Kansanshi and Kalumbila.
    Somebody needs to check these facts.

  7. Bwana Minister, come to Trentyre along Lumumba Road, not far away from your offices. We have one manager who came to Zambia as an investor originally, but now he is a senior manager, Area Manager – North. The other one is Area Sales Manager – South who is working as an expatriate with no sales qualification just because they white people. We have qualified Zambians in Mr.Benny Tshabalala and Mr.Dickson Phiri who very capable of running these regions but they were sidelined because they are black Zambians. Even the treatment of us Zambian in junior positions is pathetic. We need your intervention bwana minister.

  8. The buck stops at the govt who issue the work permits. Do not blame the employers. It is also the govt that signed the development agreements with the mining companies which allows them to bring in workers they deem fit.

  9. Let me state the following:
    1. Zambia is a mining country and dependent on the mining industry for its growth and development as the mines contribute over 70% of the countries revenue. This means the mining industry represent a good fraction of what Zambia is all about.
    2. Zambia has been mining for over 100 years with improved technologies over the last 30 years or more. This means technology transfer has been taking place for this while. We have schools of Mining and Engineering and Technical colleges producing lots of graduates. These over the years have acquired skills at different levels and can run most of our industries without fail.
    3. The global industry has been going through difficult times and with aging mines, lower grades and higher costs most mines have scaled down and…

  10. This Davis Mwila is just in a hurry to get rich. Soon the Mwenyes, choncholis and bazungu will know that they have to take brown envelopes to him to get their permits.

  11. closing around the world. This means engineers from a lot of countries are now out on the market with very few jobs available. Most of these technical people are looking elsewhere and Africa and Zambia is one place were these heading to.
    4. Since most of the senior positions in these companies are run and managed by Foreigners they find ways to justify the recruitment of foreigners. Nothing wrong if the “expats” are genuine and highly skilled, doing what available Zambians can’t do. However in most cases Zambians have even higher skill base and qualifications.
    5. My suggestions

    5.1. EIZ (or similar professional body) should be included in the Permit application process, if they are not yet.
    5.2. EIZ representative should be part of the panel of interviewers just like Union reps

    • 5.3. All jobs requiring the EIZ registrations must also be posted on EIZ website and once filled EIZ should be informed of the selected candidate and if expat why a Zambian could not fill the role, before the permit is issued
      5.4. Review all the permits which have been renewed for more than 5 years and provide a justification why no Zambian has been trained to take over
      6. Yes I agree that unless Zambians are “favoured” in a way in this competitive age we will have Zambian graduates on the streets while “expats” are getting all the jobs.
      7. (By the way I believe in Global movement of people and skills transfer)

  12. Amazing that the majority of responses are from Zambian Expats in foreign countries who will be the 1st to cry “xenophobia”when their host countries decide to nationalise their public sector positions or if their work residence permits are cancelled. Makes you wanna think!!

    • Actually it is the case in most countries, except they will not even dare mentioned it. It is the experience of the people in diaspora now wonder the rantings if you wanna call it that. It is only fair to treat people fairly and give the local man first choice.

    • Ba Folosho muli mbushii fye. People are bringing out points, you rush to rubbbishing their points. This is the reality of life. If all is well with you, it’s not well with the other person. I have seen this happening and most Zambian graduates are unfortunately in this situation. It’s about time we Zambians does this think immediately. How I miss KK with the Zambianisation process. It may have killed some companies then, but this is the right time this process can work.

  13. In other countries, the equivalent of Home Affairs Minister is so powerful and they’re the ones who call the shots. Theresa MAY of UK is such a powerful old woman such that when she coughs all immigrants and firms including universities which deal with immigrants will catch that cough.

    Mr Mwila, clean up the system. Use the intelligence (OP) to expose those collecting bribes, fire them and let them be an example to would be offenders.

    The media should also do its part, embrace investigative journalism and expose such evil vices. 3 years in office and people are still complaining about issuance of work permits to rogue, unqualified workers? As minister, you have powers to review all work permits issued to foreigners, those wrongly given can be revoked and culprits taken to court

  14. @ Ba Folosho

    When something is wrong, it needs to be corrected. How many Zambians working in foreign countries like UK, USA, SA got their work permits using underhand methods? Is it easier for them to bribe the government officials in those countries to get a permit?

    All we want from the Ministry is follow the guidelines it has set for itself regarding issuance of those work permits to foreigners. Currently, anyone with a huge sack of money can walk into the Home Affairs offices and get a work permit even though they’re not qualified for that job. That’s what we want to change. We are not against qualified personnel coming to work in Zambia. Ask Zambians working in mines especially KCM, they’ll tell you that the so called foreign engineers heading some sections are clueless…

  15. Muli ba kwisa policy a sjambok policy fond of Zambians towards other Africans,agranditize by the new generation that think Zambia is the most beautiful country in Africa! let continue like this, soon will travel nowhere in Africa! go to Mafikeng in RSA, Zambia compound in Lubumbashi, Kinondoni-Dar es salaam, in Tete and Machava-Maputo to name few, see the colonies of Zambians leaving there without documents and for years, never being troubled with this malicious question with intention to discriminate:wewe mutu wa wapi?! de que pais voce e? it is time that GRZ start educating the general public to Feel African and be accommodating! who lives in house of Glass does not throw stones!

    • Fusek iwe, you’re actually a foreigner who can’t even articulate himself in good english. Go to your country. !diot!

    • Chi Kamalondo iwe! Are we talking about xenophobia here you babbboon? Differentiate the two. Most African countries are doing this. Bots, Zim, RSA, Namibia, Lesotho, etc. Zambia is not free for all, waumfwa. What we are saying is Zambia should protect jobs meant for Zambians. We have laws and these laws should be followed. Take this into your dawn-thick skull!

  16. You are concentrating wrongly only on the Mines. SME can be the largest employer of Zambians thats where you want to look. For instance you have indian factories and shops only employing indians same with Lebanese factories and shops.
    Another inherited Problem from MMD is the immigration work permit/visa department is treated as a business, where the ministers even show off how much they have raised through issuing work permits. Dull pipo.

    • OK! You’ve got a point. But we are concentrating on the mines because the mines are the most affected by these foreign crooks.

    • MM Le Grand Patron
      Small to medium scale enterprises employ far more pepo than the mines. If they are made to employ Zambians you would find reap the Tax and full employ for the idle.

  17. Davis, that is easier said than done. I think Zambia does not have a strong “national interest” drive in everyday dealings with foreign entities. Zambian qualifications are unfairly down graded by some countries and yet government has never responded in kind. There is imbalance in trade with some major trading partners because they dump everything on us and yet we sell very little or nothing to them. Please create a strategic Think Tank to compliment civil service planning.

  18. Some expatriates come in has visited they don’t even have work permits Kalumbila mine as got such expatriates more over expatriates from south Africa are not even Educated we will see if u will if you will implement it

  19. ….I hope Mwila is not just politicking once again because we have heard such sentiments from his predecessors….but the status quo is still the same 20yrs later…….
    …first we have to answer the WHY question adequately…..
    …why do we have or allowed such a scenario in Zed…??
    …is it that we do not have enough qualified and experienced manpower..??
    …is it the immigration officers failing us..??
    ..is it the law which is inadequate..??
    ..do we have a political will…??
    …do employers have no regard of our migration labour laws ..??
    ….at times the employers(mines) are arm twisted by sub contractor into submitting to clauses such as…’to do the job with our own experienced labour force in order to issue a guarantee on the works’…they bring in dump drives,…

    • …or is it that we Zambians are just naturally a docile, gullible and passive lot….??….how on earth do we only witness demos when subsidies are removed, when they hike mealie meal price etc but stay dumb when we see a Chinese guy pushing a wheelbarrow, an Indian on a tractor/forklift…??..Chinese guy selling those manipulated chickens which they themselves don’t even consume….Chinese guy savagely beating up a Zambia worker….KCM chairman teasing Zambians….one would have expected firestorm but all quiet.. business as usual….there must be a point were we as ordinary citizens have to say ‘enough is enough’ and rise to the occasion….at times that is the language politicians hear comprehensively……

  20. There is much more involved than just considering “genuineness” of expatriates. Don’t forget that artisans with specialized hands-on capacity and tacit knowledge usually do not even have the papers that we usually think makes one work-ready. Add to that the fact that work culture also comes in as a factor. Whereas Zambian workers want to rush home at the stroke of 5 or take a holiday at the slightest pretext, Chinese workers work until the job is finished, resting only a few hours at a time. These and other factors must be taken into account or else we will go back to the mediocrity of Kaunda’s UNIP government and Zambianisation that only produced sycophants and bloated work places full of laziness and vindictiveness…

  21. Guys,
    Many of you might be too young to remember. When Pres Chiluba was elected in 1991, and he appointed Hon Akashambatwa as minister of education, he expressed the same sentiments. WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING….23+ YEARS LATER? It is nearly a whole generation.

  22. @ kalok…
    ….you maybe right may be not…..right in the sense that generally our work culture is what one would term as ‘below average’…’below par’….but we must differentiate the fact that a Zambian looks forward to seeing his family after stipulated working hours while our colleagues the Chinaman is all by himself and solely here to make money…….secondly, the HUGE difference in rates between a Zambian and his so called expatriate counterpart makes the former feel frustrated and dampens his morale to put in as much as the later ….
    …If you want to see a real dedicated Zambian worker go outside the Zambian borders….SA, USA, UK etc…you will be surprised, shocked and mesmerised of what they put in all because of what they take out….simple

    • Excellent observation, @Scrutinizerer. Matter of fact I work abroad. What discourages in Zed is that there is no playing field. If you get rid of the expatriates and then pay the Zedian peanuts the mediocrity (working half-arsed as the Americans say) will persist. However, what you will note is that China has internal migrant labor and they work just as hard as they do when they are outside the country as per the agreement they make. In Zed the trouble is we sign contracts and then start grumbling and doing half-arsed work. It is a system that needs to be visited and revisted before we can begin to “weed” out the expatriate. Despite my hard work and excellent conditions at work, I do have a lot of time to devote to my family too. I think it is a matter of designing one’s life well.

  23. This is indeed a real issue. I have equally hundreds of grievances based on the same. By and large, home affairs is a big flop and has constituted itself enemy number of both the poor zambian and unemployed graduate. To be very brief, there are two problems at H/A – complete moral and integrity collapse and very dangerously incompetent hands. If not checked very fast permits will be given to the likes of boko haram. Before the new president sits down and ignore it like any other president before let’s insist that he immediately check this rot.

  24. 13.32 MM Le Grand Ratron

    You can’t put up a proper counter argument without resorting to kaponya lingo? I’ve got an armory of similar descriptions but I won’t resort to them by referring them to a fellow human. Usually reserve them to dogs, rats and people with DNA from female street dogs. That you can write and have half a brain cell should’t get you too excited. Wachepa sana and I know where you live. Watch out for the rat poison I’ve left in the ceiling.

  25. zambia cant do without these foreigners, look at South Afrika, e role played by Zimbabweans there. after all these extriates are imparting vast knowledge to you. be thankful.

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