Tuesday, October 8, 2024

President Hichilema meets with Permanent Secretaries and senior Government officials from all sectors

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President Hakainde Hichilema has called for heightened commitment, dedication, and attachment to the people to ensure effective public service delivery. Speaking at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre during the first Senior Management quarterly meeting, the President emphasized the need for accountability and warned of consequences for public officers failing to deliver.

President Hichilema highlighted the government’s focus on assessing progress in public service delivery over the past two years and four months. He emphasized resolving debt, amending laws, and implementing the Constituency Development Fund as key components for economic growth, job creation, and social support. The President urged Senior Management to meet regularly and reinforce efforts to improve government services for the people.

Addressing the issue of the public procurement system, President Hichilema expressed concerns about its inefficiency and called for a reduction in procurement costs. He stressed the importance of shifting away from using a significant portion of revenue on personal emoluments, urging a realignment of the public envelope when growing the economy to avoid excessive consumption expenditure.

President Hichilema questioned the underutilization of government-released resources meant to improve the economy and advocated for a paradigm shift within the administration. He highlighted concerns about the Electronic Government System (EGP) and called for a shared vision to address technological challenges effectively.

Additionally, the President urged the creation of standard models for public infrastructure to cut down on procurement costs. Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa echoed the need for a professional public service free from tribalism, politics, and corruption. While acknowledging achievements, Kangwa emphasized the ongoing need for improvement in the delivery of public services.

19 COMMENTS

  1. These are just typical talk shows, to confuse those who think that this man has the country at heart when in fact not. We have never seen this level of incompetence before.

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  2. Good Lord God almighty, just how many of these fat mandarins does this administration have and I wonder what their total renumeration package is vis-à-vis their value add to the system!

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    • @Njangwamuloty. Their value add to the system is in the negatives…95% of those empty suits are totally unnecessary!!! And why kraal them like they are little school children? This man has zero people management skills…animals can’t think independently and those are the only things he can properly manage.

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  3. Mr Haantuba, your negativity is the worst enemy this country possesses. Unless we keep drumming up the need for efficiency and a corruption-free civil service, you cannot expect development in sectors of the government. It would be like saying going to church and listening to sermons is all about just talk.

    • In the first place the President isnt supposed to politically appoint a PS. A PS is a professional. That post is for a civil servant to get on promotion. Political appointments just promote incompetence. That is why our civil service cant deliver.

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  4. Kaizar Zulu, what has made you to be talking like you are doing? When you were in Chawama as a clinical Officer, you were a nice gentleman. but as a member of PF after the demise of President Sata after he fired you, you have become impossible, Why? You have no respect for governance in Zambia, why?
    Mwaona chingi. Ti uzekoni.

  5. Most Cabinet Ministers are just coming back from holidays. On average, it takes a minimum of 3 months for a Minister to attend to correspondence that passes through their desks to relevant officials. So the President was addressing wrong people when he knows the people that delay work. There’s a very important pronouncement that he made at this meeting that had been omitted in this report. There’s no country called Barotseland he said with serious emphasis

    • True he should address his fellow politicians not the civil servants. He should have left this particular address to Patrick Kangwa but there he goes needlessly interfering with operations

  6. Civil Servants who are not appointed on merit but on political patronage and appeasement. Ethically and objectively, no political hand should be their to appoint qualified civil servants. This is against the norms of corporate governance and institutional ethics. The people appointed will not use their skills to foster development. They will be towing a line of political appeasement to please appointing authority.There should be an independent body which should be responsible in appointing skilled cadre of civil servants.This will make them accountable to a credible organ.These political appointments is a drain in skilled manpower as most of them cannot assert their knowledge to the fullest.

    • @Mbaluso There already is “an independent body which should be responsible in appointing skilled cadre of civil servants”
      It is called the Civil Service Commission but these politicians seem ignorant of it as they think they can duplicate its duties. If they dont want it, delete it so that we dont pay our tax for moribund institutions.

    • @STEALING TAXPAYERS’ MONEY I concur with you on that one. Professionalism in civil service is a pipedream as long as people are not appointed on merit. How does one appoint Chella Tukuka, as a civil servant leaving people who are well versed with issues of diplomacy? It is mind boggling. What comes out is a person who cannot stand upright like an empty sack. Most of these political appointments, in civil service, are square pegs in round holes.They cannot offer alternative ideas to appointing authority owing to the fact that they are scared of being reprimanded. They would rather be in their lane of dormancy than being professional.

  7. First get rid of the district commissioners. They were introduced by ftj to reward cadres, they have no proper job description and are just a hindrance for line ministries.

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