Opposition UPND President Hakainde Hichilema says there is need to address challenges faced by the men and women in uniform in the country.
Mr Hichilema said the defence and security services have various challenges which needs attending to without fail.
He said Defence personal who include the Police, ZAF Officers, Zambia Army, ZNS and Intelligence Officers undertake risk missions to ensure that people do their jobs and sleep in peace.
Below is the official statement issued to the media.
Proper Support for our Service Personnel Must be Prioritised
We are fully aware of the challenges being faced by our men and women in uniform.
These are defence and security personnel in various wings from Zambia Police, Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force, Zambia National Service, and even the Office of the President.
These are men and women who are very critical to the well-being of the the nation as they undertake very risky operations, while most of us do our job and sleep in peace.
Many have also done the country proud in the execution of peacekeeping missions abroad.
Issues dear to our hearts that must be addressed without fail include the provision of rural hardship allowances, combat allowances and risk or exposure allowances, as well as full payments for their allowances when on peacekeeping missions abroad.
Recently, we had an ugly incident in Lusaka where a former army officer had to climb a communication tower to register his displeasure on delayed payment of claims to defence and security personal, both serving and retired.
We are also fully aware of the lack of school facilities in the newly built defence and security housing bases such as in ZAF Twin Palm, Lusaka West, and other areas forcing their children to endure lengthy and dangerous trips daily to go to schools at great cost to their families.
We also need to take care of the civilian personnel in the defence and security wings, for example in the provision of long service bonuses they used to get sometime back.
These are incentives that we truly believe are beneficial and can motivate our dedicated defence and security personnel to do even more for the betterment of this country and ensure the welfare of future generations.
There is no question about lacking resources, the problem is the lack of prioritisation by those in charge and the lack of understanding of local resource generation.
Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President
At this height of campaign season, we are bound to listen to everything, whether fact or fiction.
BA HH PLEASE YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MEN AND WOMEN OF UNIFORM.
Pwapwapwapwapwa! Yaba MARK SIDO ati ba hastings moonga is the only complete civilian.
@MAN KENYA, your bitterness is as loud as a thunderstorm, calm down & let the opposition take checks & balances. That’s the opposition’s job. Don’t be BITTER you people!
Who is bitter. We heard these promises from late Sata. What has changed. These people in uniform are enjoying. Go to Arracan Barracks this morning and count motor vehicles parked. A barman in the army is driving.So what’s your Kachema of chickens talking about? Sha.
Hasting Moonga only you are a complete civilian.HH was trained by Kaunda’s national service and ask those who were in school with him at Kalomo secondary they will tell HH is a good Karateka .Despite all this he is a well behaved ,disciplined man and focused.So stop misleading us.
Comment: Desperation as usual . It’s just not your time, maybe in the next life.
The Zambia Army and ZAF stand to benefit a lot from HH.We need to start afresh.All professional military personel have nothing to worry only PF cadres in uniform recruited dubiasly should worry pantu ba kamisonta.
@man Kenya, why are u so against reality. Asses wht is on the ground now as compared to wht was there 6years ago, u will no the answer.
Well said HH. When you come Aug 11, Sort out issue of officers being awarded Contracts which impedes progress of upcoming officers with brillian ideas. This has shown its face in the Army where redundant officers are being awarded contract YET the Ammended constitution allows them to remain on payroll till Pension is paid ! Welfare of personnel especially in the Army shud be looked after so that the UN money is well utilised and not in the manner it being used to pay for Army Commanders sons wedding and Zorai Ltd owned by Mihovas concubine! Our Command in PF has been the most corrupt esp where money is concerned. We have suffered pafula. Moving in crammed buses etc whilst our commanders are busy buying lavish SUVs using the money we toil for. Soldiers permanently attached to the…
@ Spark Jarrow & Kopa Nakis: With all due respect and contrary to your accussation, I greatly respect UNDP as a party and HH as a presidential candidate capable of monitoring the whole country and economic turnaround.
You can sense desperation in all HH statements. If you put them all together and have a memory, you will notice that he has said this to all sectors of Zambia and came back and contradicted himself when the government in power does something positive. If for example PF builds houses for ZAF, he will say why build houses for ZAF when miners are being retrenched. If PF comes to the AID of miners HH will say just the opposite. Politics of tribalism, envy, bitterness and selfishness bakachema ba nkumba.
HH is just going after the foot prints of Sata. He thinks he will be like the same way like Sata but one thing he is forgetting is that times are different and so many factors have changed. Sata campaigned for these service men and civil servants and we have seen how their living has positively changed. If HH is not careful with rate at which he is imitating the late he will end up faking a death thinking people will give Upnd a sympath vote.
The system of UPND will demote a lot of bemba soldiers and policemen and all battalions will be headed by UPNDs, there will be maningi circus I tell you! Don’t say you were not warned.
Aba nabo bayamba kusabaila, iwe wa kuta sawa?
One day
Ba PF why do you start something which you can’t manage you have formed Marine unit and you don’t even know how soldiers are living,no acomodation,no food,no families,no current affairs and a refuge camp for tht matter wht kind of suffering do want soldiers to experience ? You have separated them with the families in Ndola and you take them in the bush so that you get more votes in Luapula ,kawambwa You want them to construct HIV & STIs? My advise is let the soldiers come back & stay with the families and work in commando before innocent children become orphans if not,HH will come save them.