Thursday, March 28, 2024

We need to tranform the Civil Service from a Consumption Entity to Production one-Felix Mutati

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Finance-Minister-Felix-Mutati-meeting-with-senior-management-staff-at-the-Ministry-of-Finance
Finance-Minister-Felix-Mutati-meeting-with-senior-management-staff-at-the-Ministry-of-Finance
FINANCE Minister Felix Mutati says there is need to transform the civil service from a consumption-oriented entity to a productive one in order to overcome the challenges the country is facing and that there is need for everyone to sacrifice to achieve this goal.

And Mr. Mutati said he will not relinquish his position as MMD president because his appointment to the ministry was purely to galvanize his expertise with others for the benefit of the country.

Speaking soon after being sworn-in by President Edgar Lungu at State House yesterday, Mr. Mutati said there was need for Zambians to sacrifice in order to overcome the economic challenges that lay ahead, saying there will be need for collective use of the expertise needed to address the challenges.

He said the pending International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout plan was not the only option available to Zambia in its quest to stabilise the economy but urged Zambians to exercise endurance as the country moved toward economic emancipation, adding that he was confident that the country will overcome its challenges with hard work.

“Going forward, we need to do three things particularly for the civil service; we need to transform it from a service that focuses on consumption to a productive civil service. There is need for the mental change; the mind-set change. Our collective wisdom when summoned, nothing is impossible, not even the economy will be able to do that and lastly, we must be able to sacrifice.

“The journey is going to be painful and there will be need for endurance. The IMF is but just one option that we will have to deal with as we go forward and how we deal with that will depend on our collective wisdom, our collective talent.

‘‘I’m confident that Zambians will work and pull together to deal with whatever difficulties that lie ahead. Sacrifice calls for enduring up to the end in order to make progress,” Mr. Mutati said.

Mr. Mutati thanked President Lungu for showing confidence in him by appointing him to a sensitive ministry which was at the epicentre of economic development, saying he had demonstrated the need for the unity of purpose in his quest to develop the country.

“I am really humbled by the humility of the President to appoint me to a very challenging ministry, the ministry that is the heartbeat of the economy. The President has demonstrated once again his oneness, the ‘ubuntu spirit’. He has demonstrated that unity of purpose is the oxygen for progress and development and that national duty is more important than individual affiliations that we have,” he said.And Mr. Mutati said he will not relinquish his position as MMD president because his appointment to President Lungu’s Cabinet was purely to use his expertise for the benefit of the country.

“I will remain president of the party; I am here to serve the nation, to add my capabilities with others to solve the critical issues. With President Lungu, we discussed that matter and agreed that I will not abdicate my presidency,” he said.

26 COMMENTS

  1. HH should be made ps for finance too, he has good abilities and he can use the 10 point plan, no need to relinquish his UPND presidency. He can work well with mutati

    • This guy is an accident waiting to happen.

      Maganda, Dambisa Moyo, would fill you with confidence.

      This guy is just a failed Minister who never resigned from UPND, thinks he is MMD and is serving in PF.

      A man who stands for nothing.

      Terrible choice.

      Thanks

      Bb2014

    • You must be a very big fo0l! Why HH? Why not your Lungu and his cadres? You wanted power and you want rule Zambia forever, did you think that it would be a child’s play? Go on with your Dununa reverse and see how the country will get to its knees. Solve your own problems in your own way. After all you are the ones in power! Cry the beloved country has gone to the dogs. Mpaka litente Mpaka Litulike! UPND one love forever more!

    • We should first know why we are where we are and how we will move out from there, that’s how problems are solved. We are where we are because of SATA and his Chipantepante kind of leadership. Borrowing without a plan, borrowing for consumption and not for investment, wrong choice of Investment destination e.g. investing in a road to Mpika which has no economic benefits instead of Chingola Solwezi road where a number of trucks pass 24/7 )losing out on revenue e.f. toll gates. Abnormal Increase in civil servants salaries without first putting up a plan on where those monies will be generated from (high inflation). PF were excited for nothing but believe you me for us to get out of this mess we need someone who is sharp especially at the presidency level otherwise we are in for it for the…

  2. They ask the poor to sacrifice but they themselves can’t sacrifice. They can’t relinquish their positions. If you can read between the lines it’s like a pie in the sky. Rewards that would come after death. The poor masses have to face the blunt side of the economy. Where will we find another Mwanawasa, Magande, Musokotwane. These are economic pundts that made the biggest difference ever. Look at where they come from. Bantu botatwe or Northwestern Rhodesia. Why are they different? They dont dip their fingures in state coffers and genuinely fight corruption. We will meet when the world comes back to it’s senses.

  3. Kikiki typical statements. How many times will zambians have to sacrfice while chair warmers like yourself continue occupying offices and sending your kids to London School of economics while majority of zambians live on less than 2 dollars a day. Please mutati if i were you i would shut my mouth and just get on with my job because such statements are an insult from a government that stole an election. Just continue borrowing while IMF teach you a lesson in economics.

  4. infact scrap away these one year leave these civil servants enjoy doing private business at the expense of service delivery…I am ready to be a whistle blower to the govt in telling them how many civil servants are ever online blogging……I can do that coz I own my business..dah

    • I KNOW A POLICE WOMAN WHO TRAVELS TO CHINA EVERY 3 MONTHS TO BUY WEDDING DRESSES FOR HER SHOP. WHEN SHE’S IN HER OFFICE SHES ONLY INTERESTED IN BRIBES FROM FOREIGNERS

    • @ Eye witness….this is wat I mean….someone will call you jealous not realizing that the 16% vat and some other taxes you pay goes to bloated civil servants who only know to ask ati zangena even shining to us the tax payers ati am on study leave. the truth is we need to trim service…AM SURE WHEN THAT LADY GOES. PEOPLE DONT NOTICE COZ THERE IS AWALYS SOMEONE TO DOUBLE THE POSITION

  5. Some of these guys are just robots. Since when was the civil service productive? This is just good at talking and has done nothing productive to show off to Zambians. Running to ma Ntemba which are mainly dependent on govt. patronage and you call oneself as a successful businessman. Lets get serious the civil service thrives when the private sector is doing vey well. What value is Fellie as Chartered Accountant going to bring about to revive the shrinking economy other than just managing the cashflows. ECL should have considered bringing on board a seasoned ECONOMIST. He tried another Chartered Accountant in the name of Chris Mvunga who never added any value to the Ministry of Finance. To me retaining ba Alex was even better. Any what you as right to the other it is wrong.

  6. Yes Zambians seriously need mind set change. When you chew funds for building good roads, schools and hospitals, how do you feel when you lose a relative from a road accident or under equipped hospital? How do these people sleep at night? The entire civil service and judiciary need a massive overhaul but unfortunately the task is too huge due to nepotism brought in by successive governments. How do you stop your own relative from stealing when the idea of getting to that office is to amass wealth? It would take a team of serious people to clean up this mess in civil service. Bringing in expatriates for the first phase wouldn’t be such a bad idea. UK has a Canadian as governor for Bank of England.

  7. @justice 3 Don’t cheat those chaps you’ve mentioned were just chancers in that during their times copper price was at its historical high. They never mended even a single road which resulted in ten potholes per house hold. As for corruption ask yourself why Mwanawasa allowed Shansonga who was the chief architect of the so-called plunder to flee the country. Even KK did far better than the crooks you mentioned until the falling copper price let him down

  8. Dambisa, Mangande or Musokotwane would have been the best candidate for ministry of Finance. President Lungu did this to dupe the Bembas, since ABC is the immediate past Finance minister. With time and Lungu consolidating his power, this seat shall go to Dora the explorer.

  9. Hey
    Give this guy a chance, seem to be stepping in the right direction – “transform the civil service from a consumption-oriented entity to a productive one”. Did you ever hear this come off Chikwanda ? If he means it and can deliver, this is huge.

    I hope PF Cabinet understands what that means, and this statement will not be mistaken for a new brand of ……. bottle.

  10. If you are serious:
    Open up senior civil service positions to competitive merit and result based management system as opposed to caderism;all senior positions should be on contract basis and renewal should be based on delivery of results not caderism;re-orient the civil service from the consumption silos to the open productive arena in which its role would be to create a conducive environment for growth of the productive sector;explore more opportunities in private and public sector partnerships;identify viable (not political expedient nodes) economic growth nodes in the country and provide the necessary infrastructure support and expand from there; support growth of non capital intensive exports (livestock exports and tourism).

  11. Mutati speaks well but is NOT a performer. Watch this space… rhetorics. What will save him is the fact that IMF will be running the show behind the scenes.

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