Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo has cautioned directors in the Ministry not to unnecessarily delay government programmes.
Speaking when she met directors in Lusaka yesterday, Ms. Masebo warned senior ministry official officials against delaying programmes that are in line with the UPND manifesto.
She said dragging of feet in implementing presidential directives will not be condoned.
Ms Masebo said there is need for the ministry of Health to be prompt in delivering to the expectation of the public.
“What I don’t want as a minister, is if there is a directive by the President arising from the party manifesto and the parliament which is a legislative body goes to approve and we here at the ministry who are supposed to approve that begin to drag their feet,” Ms. Masebo said.
And Ms Masebo further disclosed that some functions of the Ministry will be given to local authorities.
Ms. Masebo said this is in line with the government’s policy of decentralization.
“Part of our functions in the delivery of public health services shall be passed on to the council countrywide. Even as we decentralize some of the functions, let us be cautious that we are dealing with the health and lives of people,” she said.
Speaking earlier, Ministry of Health Director of Human Resource, Frederick Mwila appealed for the permanent employment of almost 2,000 temporal health staff who were recruited in the fight against COVID-19.
“The ministry is also engaging the Ministry of Finance to have these people absorbed in the government payroll,” he said.
Mr Mwila further disclosed that 25,000 health personnel have been recruited in the last five years out of the targeted 30,000.
Ministry of Health, Director for Quality Assurance, Rosemary Mwanza lamented that her directorate is dependent on donor funding.
Dr Mwanza said funding to the department has been inadequate, making it a challenge to implement key programmes.
Meanwhile, Zambia has recorded 112 new confirmed COVID-19 cases out of 6,296 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
Minister of Health, Sylvia Masebo disclosed that 208,161 confirmed cases have been recorded cumulatively and one new Covid-19 related was recorded in Lusaka in the last 24 hours.
She announced that the cumulative number of COVID-19 related deaths recorded to date now stands at 3,636 classified as 2,726 COVID-19 deaths and 910 COVID-19 associated deaths.
‘’We currently have 941 active cases with 60 currently admitted to COVID-19 Health facilities and 881 under community management.
‘’Patients in facilities of the admitted cases, 34 are on Oxygen therapy and 9 in critical condition, a slight increase from the figures recorded yesterday,’’ said Ms Masebo.
And she indicated that 10 new admissions and 9 discharges from the COVID-19 health facilities country wide were recorded in the last 24 hours.
‘’ Patients being managed from home, we had a further 30 patients discharged from home management, having met the WHO criteria for discharge,’’ Ms Masebo stated.
She announced that the cumulative number of recoveries recorded to date now stands at 203,584.
Meanwhile In the last 24 hours, 3,642 doses of Johnson and Johnson and 203 Dose 1 and 1,313 Dose 2 AstraZeneca and 28 Dose 1 Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines where administered in the last 24 hours bringing the cumulative number of doses administered to date to now stand at 631,466.
Ms Masebo further appealed to mothers and families not to shun visiting health facilities to access various health services in the era of COVID-19 as measures have been in place to protect the citizenry.
So she knows that officers delay GRZ programmes? No wonder we have had problems in the past.
Why should we have 17 Directors for One Ministry? Does it mean every disease has a Director?
3 Directors are enough! Bamukolwe nga bafula, there is no progress!
This is the problem HH will have with recycled politicians the govt will change but their mindset is constant and never changes…its back to PF’s way of issuing threats and warnings. Most of these new ministers are also working with the same corrupt civil servants appointed by Lazy Lungu…if its costly to sack them transfer them to other ministries.
“What I don’t want as a minister, is if there is a directive by the President arising from the party manifesto and the parliament which is a legislative body goes to approve and we here at the ministry who are supposed to approve that begin to drag their feet,” Ms. Masebo said.
If that happens then there are two issues which are the President never thought about how his directive would be executed or there is no money…..time for countless useless Presidential directives is long gone please madam, stop lecturing seasoned civil servants about their job if they dont know their job fire them. That ministry has had too many scandals no way can all those directors still be in the job and be innocent.
“What I don’t want as a minister, is if there is a directive by the President arising from the party manifesto and the parliament which is a legislative body goes to approve and we here at the ministry who are supposed to approve that begin to drag their feet,” Ms. Masebo said.
The President added. “Madam Vice President I’m talking about working not to wait for these ceremonies every week but to move in right away to effect…”
Masebo please, STOP WAITING FOR DIRECTIVES FOR YOU MANAGE YOUR MINISTRY, ACT LIKE A CEO OF A COMPANY. YOU ALSO HAVE READ THE MANIFESTO, SO YOU KNOW UPND`s VISION. BE PROACTIVE ! NO MORE LUNGU STYLE OF LEADING THROUGH DIRECTIVES.
Too many warnings…..We want you to act on the the already known cases. You had talked so much about Dr. Chitalu Chilufya. you had said so much about the Ambulances and expired drugs. If your noises were correct arrest Dr. Chitalu Chilufya.. otherwise keep quiet .
it will be beneficial for the honourable Minister to take time to read the WHO 2000 health report. it will put her in the right path to understand how healthcare in country should be managed. reading this report will make her not to over rely on those technocrats instead she will be questioning them on critical things like stewardship and local resource mobilization to finance health activities.
Masebo is spot on… the biggest spoilers to UPND success is government official. These chaps like throwing silly polices at progressive projects. And in most cases want to be worshiped esp by Zambia.. Deal with them Masebo
@Tarino Orange
At least you’re more Patriotic than Spaka like lilo…..yes recycled Politicians and Masebo has been chewing Govt money since late 90s….and she is still chewing…is this all HH came up with….and I am still saying it’s just a change of color from green to red….the President HH is also issuing unnecessary warnings….ACC also is just blowing hot air so that they can keep their jobs…..remember that the government is still 83% controlled by PF….so the bottom line is nothing will really change… HH made alot of deals prior to running for President now he can’t escape….and where is KBF. ..I know Mufulira boy personally he’s a serpent and he has some thieving tendency…..was talking to one of his friends yesterday and they’re all getting ready for tenders…
Masebo – a very hands on Minister, very action oriented, very good work in her last portifolios in previous governments. Speaks her mind on what she believes in and was always ready in the past to loose her position on account of that. Sylvia Tembo Masebo – a woman of action
Very good in the past, brought a lot of life to local government then. I hope she has the same energy and vigour but very aggressive and result oriented in the past
Not a word on corruption, Sylvia? You know very well MoH is the most tainted ministry – I couldn’t swear your own hands are clean (remember those 200+ hearsts?). An extra warning doesn’t hurt……..
I always ask why our cabinet ministers look finished when they are out of government. It does not seem to matter how many times they served before in government. Could it be that they fail to look after themselves when outside government? Could it be that when in government they have a lot of free food and drink which they can no longer afford outside government? Or, is it simply a case of people we entrust the responsibility to take care of our needs just being irresponsible over their own lives and failing to invest whilst they are in a GRZ job so that when outside government they are able to take better care of themselves?
Masebo is cool
It will be difficult for the minister to work with
The old team as they dont like to be pushed.
Better recruit your own team.Same applies
Every ministry and all law enforcement agencies.Old guards cannot change.
Those who are always buying paint to paint Sylvia and other people black will find that their brushes will be too blunt to paint, yes blunt you heard me ….Let us support HH, Sylvia Masebo, and the new UPND government. Let us ensure that Sean Zero, Given Zayelo, Opportunist Nakachinda and others remain ku wire please
Indeed some functions need to be devolved to local authorities. Seventeen(17) Directors at one Ministry! No wonder funds end up just there at Headquarters and do not trickle down to district level. Why don’t they merge some departments and transfer some members of staff to Provincial and district offices?
Is it a Jamaican plagiarized manifesto she is talking about? There are more mosquitos in Jamaica than Zambia.
Here is what the Ministers should do: Every director must submit a project plan for whatever they are doing within timeframes. They will be the leads to the Minister. They will have other key persons doing their bit as part of this project. There should be no warnings. Just a check on how the project plan is rolling out and what mitigation if any needs to put in place in the event something is lagging behind. It should a new politics.
Saulosi – you don’t have to post some sacrastic running commentary everytime I criticise this as if I am a member of UPND. I am not like you who can’t get over losing LAZY LUNGU
Masebo and Kambwili are the same…they can’t survive outside Politics no wonder they jump from one Political party to the other…all thieves
No public dressing down please!!! If you attack them like that in public then their subordinates will not respect them, not carry out orders, so programs will be delayed. That discussion should remain in the boardroom and not in public media
I have a problem with the word, WARN. Patriotic Front has forever changed zambian politics…when you use words such as warn , you patronize people and they rebel….we should be careful with semantics
Civil servants are supposed to be non-partisan so that they are able to serve under any political party that comes. If the comments by some of the bloggers is that the new UPND government should fire the current crop of civil servants, the insinuation is that those civil servants should be replaced by UPND cadres. Is that what we want? That each party that forms government should come with its own cadres to fill those positions? God help us! In any case, the PF government had been in existence for only ten years but many of the civil servants we are now demonizing have been there even under previous governments. That is how it should be. A civil servant should work under any government that comes, that’s why they shouldn’t be partisan.
Our Government is just too weak to fight corruption and they’re good at issuing empty threats. What she’s just said it has been said before from the previous Governments, but nothing changed.