Eastern Province Minister Charles Banda has advised the Patriotic Front (PF) in the region to investigate allegations that some civil servants are members of the former ruling party, MMD leading to a matter in which PF party cadres last week closed government offices.
Mr Banda said in an interview with ZANIS this yesterday that it is true that there are some bad elements in the civil service some of whom were employed as favours by the MMD.He said the cadres throughout the province should hold their fire as the Central Committee is looking into the matter.
Mr. Banda however charged that some of the employees do not even have the required qualifications saying they were aggressive and unruly towards members of the Patriotic Front when the MMD was in government.The Minister stated that some of the government workers were even holding positions in the former ruling party.
“Some were District Chairpersons, there is need to cleanse the public service to ensure that government’s developmental programs are not
frustrated,” he said.Mr Banda said that time has changed and those that were aligning themselves to MMD should not be kept in those offices.
“There is need to strike a balance and those people injured their colleagues when the MMD was in office, they refused to work with others
so why are they still holding to offices when PF which they opposed is now in governemnt,” he wondered.
Mr Banda stated that a precedence was set where the opposition was treated as enemies.“People should realise that they cannot be the Alpha and the Omega,they thought that the MMD would rule forever but things have changed,”he said.
Last Thursday, PF cadres led by District Information and Publicity Secretary, Ledger Tembo allegedly locked the offices of the District Administrative Officer (DAO) Simeon Banda, District Education Board Secretary (DEBS), Samuel Phiri and the Local Court offices who were accused of being MMD.
PF district information and publicity officer said the officers in question had continued the MMD working culture, alleging that they were bringing the name of the ruling party into disrepute.
And reacting to the incident, District Administrative Officer, Simeon Banda, said he was not objecting the closing of his office but said he
was a civil servant and as such he will continue reporting to the office until the Public Service Commission advises.
Retrogressive one party state mentality. Werent PF party members working side by side with MMD party members? now we want government to be only for PF party supporters. this country is headed down the one party state mentality toilet.
Have MMD members ceased to be Zambians?
Somebody help me, I think I got on a time machine by mistake and got off in 1978!
@ Lady, i think you’ve missed their point ….read again! nobody wants a party cadre to be in public offices. the president said civil servants should be non-partisan to be able to perform their duties deligently & without favour. this was the tendancy in the MMD government & the PF government wants this mentality to stop so that each & everyone have equal opportunities
@ Lady is very right. the civil service is for all zambians – pf, mmd, upnd etc. and mind you, we’re in 2012 not in the 60s
Iwe Charles Banda, shouldnt it be the responsibility of the Civil Service commission? Iwe kakubombafye incito ba yama bakupele as a Minister. Ababantu baku Chipata ukushupa.
I take great exception for the Minister to support anarchy and victimisation of public service workers,fine,recruit your caders and wish PF will be there forever.What qualifications is the Minister talking about,can he tell us his CV ,I expect the Minister in his rightful senses to preach unity because this country belongs to all and we are all one despite the diversities surrounding us.Most of the recent Dcs recruited are uneducated and replaced well educated officers,so what qualifications he is talking about?
Are the current DCs not PF cadres? So some people should lose their government jobs because they are MMD members? What a country!! Ledger Tembo!!! Ledger? What a name!!! Is this the same Zambian province where some people have names like Vodacom, Airtime, Landline, Injunction, etc?
What a load of backward government! You don’t have to belong to the ruling party to be a civil servant. Non-partisan just refers to objectively carrying out your civil duties – it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a member of a political party. This is a form of GESTAPO witch-hunting. How many parties are in Zambia? Are you going to start a ‘filtering’ process? People in the civil service should only lose their jobs for incompetence, non-performance or gross misconduct.
Charles Banda – which planet are you living on? No wonder you have failed miserably since leaving ZNBC where you were retrenched for incompetence. How can you advocate trampling on fellow Zambians’ basic right to political affiliation. Charles Banda is an i.d.i.o.t. Full stop. Please let him know I said that.
PF you are serious with no direction or hope of building this nation. It is only a few months ago we had a lot of civil servants who supported PF, does that mean RB and his team should have fired these people. Just creat real jobs, and stop turning the civil service into a Muchinga paradise. Stop lying you have laid enough, look at the DCs position all we have now are Mwambas, Bwalyas and PF cadresium. Leave those civil servants they are equally entitled to these jobs as you PF cadres or Bembas. Just creat real jobs not through creation of new districts. The creation of new districts just puts a strain on the govt cofers.
PF Cadres are not Civil Servants. How dare they close government offices? This is not a one party state. The cadres are simply criminal in their actions, and must be identified and prosecuted. Furthermore, they must not expect to get the jobs they hope members of the MMD will vacate, because only qualified people must be employed, regardless of their political persuasion.
This is a democratic nation, and people are now free to express their views, support the democratic political ideology they prefer without victimisation or loss of livelihood.
Although not a PF member, I am sympathetic to MC Sata and the PF, but I am allergic to the nonsense, such as the one just reported in this news item. It looks like we need to continue educating our people about compliance to the rule of law.
Total crap,so they just want PF cadres everywhere,at Zesco,Zamtel and in the public service,selfish morons.
Complexity of governance boggles ordinary minds, will they ever comprehend it?
Charles Banda is worse off than Mugabe.
@ # 4 you make me very sad indeed. Have checked who the DC for Lusaka is??? Is Kampengele honestly a profesional civil servant? is the DC Kitwe a profesional civil servant? As adults let us not say things for the sake of our political beliefes no , instead lets try to correct the wrongs. On ther other hand if we agree on the path of appoing party cadres to government position so be it but dont associate it to others at the exclusion of PF because you think you are more PF than us. As for Minister Charles Banda I have no comment because all those who know him by now know that if at all he loves this country and later himself, he should have declined that appointment on health grounds. He is un well. Wishing him good health and please God has allowed sometime to make peace with others.
@Pixxy, You are being simplistic on this matter. Every person is a politician and every politician is a person. The difference is that there are two kinds, The Passive and The Active. Otherwise, how do you think the PF managed to win? Their is no such thing as am neutral- ili che ku polish mwana. What we need is an environment that is conducive for both those kinds to operate in.
Ako ka minister ka muzungu anikonde he is forgeting that as a result of such mentality he was unemployed for a long time. Now that he has started using talk time,fuel, mealile and vinangu for free, he wants to be a god in the province. Tuma powers to fire and hire civil servants at will.
LET THEM BE WARNED. PF WILL NOT BE IN POWER FOREVER. THANK GOD AM NOT A CIVIL SERVANT!
‘DONCHA KULILA’,YOU WERE WARNED,YOU DID NOT LISTEN.YOU ARE STUCK WITH PF
It’s like MMD was any better. Huh?!
wao!
Simeon Banda was MMD district chairman, but that does not disqualify him to be DAO in PF government, he is a citizen of impoverished Zambia, unless he is being partisan in his work. mbalame yakunyanja u are lost, advise correctly.
Strange people, these PF cadres. Two wrongs dont make it right. Work towards a civil serice that is non-partisan and is open to anyone on merit irrespective of political affiliation.
The existence of anarchists is a sign of lack of respect for the leaders and the rules/laws by which they are supposed to embrace as they lead. From the mouth of the minister should come words of caution to those who take the law into their own hands. Whoever locked up the government offices should be locked by now. Civility must be promoted and freedom of association should be enjoyed by all. Qualification for civil service office is academic and professional. There is no room for partisan adhocracy.