Friday, March 29, 2024

JCTR, NAREP endorse Lungu proposal’s proposal to have Deputies attend cabinet meetings

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 Deputy Ministers
Deputy Ministers

JESUIT Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR) director Leonard Chiti and National Restoration Party (NAREP) president Elias Chipimo have welcomed President Lungu’s proposal to integrate deputy ministers into Cabinet meetings for them to effectively discharge their functions in the absence of substantive office holders.

Reacting to President Lungu’s announcement on Tuesday that he is working on modalities to integrate deputy ministers into Cabinet meetings, Father Chiti said in an interview yesterday that the JCTR welcomes Mr Lungu’s proposal.

“As JCTR, we have always wondered what role deputy ministers play when they cannot act as cabinet ministers in the absence of substantive holders of the office,” Fr Chiti said

He said President Lungu’s decision is well intended and JCTR looks forward to the amendment of the law.

And Mr Chipimo said in a separate interview that deputy ministers currently do not serve a useful purpose and President Lungu’s proposal to give them more powers is a very good idea.

“If deputy ministers are to be made useful, something has to be done to the law and President Lungu is spot-on,” Mr Chipimo said

He said in other countries like the United Kingdom, deputy ministers act when the substantive office bearers are absent.

“We have always opposed the idea of deputy ministers because they don’t improve the process of administration and so to give them more powers will be a very good idea,” Mr Chipimo said.

36 COMMENTS

    • AND LUNGU WILL NEVER GET TO KNOW THE NEEDS AND WANTS OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN PROVINCE BECAUSE HE HAS MARGINALIZED THEM BY NOT GIVING THEM A REPRESENTATIVE IN HIS CABINET. MARGINALIZATION AND SEGREGATION IS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE BY THOSE GIVEN POWER TO LEAD THE COUNTRY.

    • I believe there are perks for these meetings and its not necessary for Deputies to be attending these meetings. Its share waste of resources at last Edgar will say EVERY CITIZEN should be attending Cabinet meetings. Chipimo should check himself and gauge his vantage.

    • The idea is good if well intended. I am seeing however a situation were Lungu will continue to be Defence Minister and the Deputy will be doing all the work for him. That way, it won’t be a good Idea.

      The number of deputies is too much, we will have a lot of passengers in these meetings. Anyway for the Watchdog leakage of information will increase.

    • KWACHA TO HIT OVER K50 PER $ DOLLAR BY 2016.

      The serious issue we should be debating is KWACHA’s free fall against the $Dollar.

      At the rate the kwacha is falling, it will surely hit well over K50 per dollar by 2016 due to PF ‘s inability to deal with the TRADE DEFICIT and to implement sensible monetary policies.

      PF has no clue of how to stop the kwacha falling dismally because its composed of thugs who do Not understand how to deal with endogenous causes such as TRADE DEFICIT and MONETARY POLICIES, but simply turn a blind eye to enrich them selves first at the expense of the poor common man. Thats why they all deserve the label thug.

      Now PF is sending another clueless delegation to the US to negotiate another BOND LOAN to use to service the $1.75 billion bond it took out las

    • Personally, deputy ministers do not add value because there’s a minister in-charge assisted by a permanent secretary and a director. EL dissolved the previous cabinet and took two weeks or so to put one place knowing that there was still continuity.

      The appointments of deputy ministers is a detractor in the fight against poverty. We have such a bloated government so much that the salaries account for 70% of the GDP leaving only 30% for infrastructure development. What’s even worse is that only 25% of the population is consuming the 70% alone.

      It’s no wonder there’s so much borrowing and the Kwacha is losing it’s value very fast because of populist policies. The appointment of cabinet is one such

    • Instead of dealing with the Poor Monetary policies and the trade deficit, PF minions in power and their supporters are busy attributing the Kwacha ‘s fall to exogenous factors such as falling copper prices and global trends which they totally have no control what so ever.

      Copper prices and global currency fluctuations are totally out of PF or any government’s powers to control. The best the PF should be doing is to focus on those factors which are with in their control as HH has repeatedly voiced out during his many interviews on what Zambia needs to do to improve the economy and minimise or mitigate external shocks.

      Unfortunately PF is a clueless bunch who just know how to share contracts and swindle the government coffers under the pretext of rapid development once money is…

    • @ Wanzelu

      I am concerned. What else do you do apart from posting comments? You people are the reason why our economy isn’t improving, not the GRZ. How can we develop when you guys are so lazing around? Waiting for HH to win, you’ve been waiting ever since 2009, no working at all..

    • @SS guard

      If you run your own businesses then you have ample time to spare and add a voice to speak for the busy employed folks struggling to earn coins for bread crumbs off rogue regimes like PF.

      If you don’t work for yourself please don’t try it because you will be sacked.

      So please stop worrying about me, but worry about yourself my friend. I am my own boss.

    • Mr President, you are busy expanding the cabinet to something that should change its name to a council, due to its shear size. Look at the kwacha how it is fairing on the market even with BoZ interventions it is now trading around K7 (K7000 to a Dollar). When are you going to make policy pronouncements which will help stabilize the kwacha? What are your economic advisers doing? Are they just enjoying the new pocket empowerment?

    • KWACHA TO HIT OVER K50 PER $ DOLLAR BY 2016.

      The serious issue we should be debating is KWACHA’s free fall against the $Dollar.

      At the rate the kwacha is falling, it will surely hit well over K50 per dollar by 2016 due to PF ‘s inability to deal with the TRADE DEFICIT and to implement sensible monetary policies.

      PF has no clue of how to stop the kwacha falling dismally because its composed of thugs who do Not understand how to deal with endogenous causes such as TRADE DEFICIT and MONETARY POLICIES, but simply turn a blind eye to enrich them selves first at the expense of the poor common man. Thats why they all deserve the label thug.

      Now PF is sending another clueless delegation to the US to negotiate another BOND LOAN to use to service the $1.75 billion bond it took out last…

  1. The man is intelligent. Is this the man they labelled as vision less. Look at that decision, NOT even the owner of the vision (Sata) thought about that!!!

  2. The issues appears to me to be Deputy Ministers to act as Minister when the incumbent is indisposed, because I believe the one acting is eligible to stand in. Otherwise, the meetings will either be ineffective or there will be too many passengers due to the large number of such position.

  3. Absence of Deputy Ministers from closed meetings is normal practice. Only invited guests can come in. Unless it is proved that in fact governments where the Deputy Ministers sit in cabinet meetings are by far more effective, efficient and developed, then there is no point in trying a new process. Too many cooks spoil the broth. The executive function could be transformed into a legislative function. Each proposal from above must be subjected to debate and scrutiny from the bottom.

    • @6 Dr Kasonde.

      For sure too many people will spoil everything and derail idea generation in the meeting thus slobing the whole process. We need few intelligent minds to run the affairs of the nation. Mr Lungu should not do ‘donchi kubeba’ on us we need a ‘small vibrant Cabinet’.

      #ZAMBIA A COUNTRY WITHOUT A PRESIDENT.

    • @Mwinefilimu
      Your point on wasting resources is valid especially for ministries which have two or three deputies but I think something can be done to avoid that. Where the situation is I have stated above, it should be decided that only one deputy can attend to represent that particular ministry when the responsible cabinet minister is not present. Cabinet’s role is to direct govt policy and make decisions on national matters and those policies and decisions affect us all in the end so maybe the allowance is worth the representation (but for one deputy of course).

    • You must be very behind, who tells you that management meetings call for allowances? A cabinet meeting is a routine management meeting that does not warrant allowances. Dont share your ignorance that openly.

  4. While the ministers are at the airport kungo babaika excorting the president, their deputies shall be working for Zambia hahahaha. Good move president Lungu.

  5. This is like hiring six drivers when there are only two vehicles then instructing your HR to find a way to make the other four drivers more useful. Why hiring so many in the first place. The Deputy Ministers have job descriptions do they need to attend cabinet meetings to carry them out?

  6. This is good news especially for online media, more secrets will be exposed. Good move His Exc. Chagwa Lungu SC. WD make sure you recruit them more……you know what i mean!

  7. Please Bloggers, Sometimes lets be objective. The issue is simple, When the responsible minister is Absent a Deputy can act as the Minister, This Idea promotes continuity in duties because the Minister and His Deputy are the In-charge of a particular Ministry and there is no point of Suppose bringing a Minister from a different Ministry to stand In. Some bloggers really makes me sick…

  8. Question foremost in my mind is: Why do we even need Deputy Ministers? So there is Politician and his deputy – then there is PS and his deputy with several directors. What are the functions of these people? I know something about signatures will come up but isn’t that what we should now streamline? Amazing…

    • @ Kalok….YEP…WE DON’T NEED DEPUTY MINISTERS…I ALSO WONDER WHAT THEY DEPUTIZE…SHORTLY, THERE WILL VICE-DEPUTY MINISTERS…

    • A PS cannot attend Cabinet meetings. What used to happen in the past was that if a minister for a particular ministry was not available, a cabinet minister from another ministry used to act in that position especially when it came to answering questions in parliament. ECL thinking is that if a cabinet minister is not available then let his/her deputy minister act in that position instead of another cabinet minister from another ministry. This is good thinking.

  9. JUST ANOTHER WAY TO DELAY PROCESSES, DECISIONS AND INCREASE CONSUMPTION THROUGH MULTI-BUREAUCTRATICENTRALISM….THESE *****S UPON MY FOOT!!!!

  10. Please! Okay mwana last time ba boss was out you acted. This time its me. Naine nipangeko ka something. Two deputies per ministry.

  11. The more the merrier right!! Instead of around 20 people making bad decisions you can have 50 people making bad decisions hooray. I am not convinced. So many cooks!!!

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