By Isaac Zulu
Former Matero member of parliament Faustina Sinyangwe has implored politicians not to patronise the civil service.
And Sinyangwe said former president Edgar Lungu is all alone now as the people who surrounded him have distanced themselves from him, saying President Hakainde Hichilema must learn from that and surround himself with people that will be very honest with him.
And Sinyangwe has advised civil servants to refrain from the tendency of leaking government confidential information.
Speaking with the Daily Revelation on Monday afternoon, Sinyangwe urged President Hakainde Hichilema and his UPND party officials to resist the temptation of patronising the civil service, which she said was common in the Patriotic Front administration.
She emphasised that appointment to senior government positions should be on merit in order to ensure that there is credibility, professionalism and efficiency in the civil service.
“I want to talk about the decision taken by the President [Hakainde Hichilema] of firing senior government officials at permanent secretary level. But removing all permanent secretaries without knowing how each one ascended to those positions, is not right. Maybe the President and the UPND government have their own reasons. I also know that the UPND have their own policies just like the former ruling party [Patriotic Front]. If there’s change of government you expect change in government policies. But what I have noticed is that when there’s change of government senior government officials such as permanent secretaries suffer some victimisation…they become sacrificial lambs and end up losing their jobs,” Sinyangwe explained. “It is wrong to appoint people to senior government positions just because such a person campaigned for you as a politician. I personally worked in the civil service for 35 years and I rose to the rank of director in the Ministry of Education. But at no time did politicians patronise the civil service. We worked without political interference. Likewise, I expect the President and the UPND not to patronise the civil service. Appointment to senior government positions such as permanent secretaries should be on merit. And in, turn, credibility, professionalism and efficiency will be guaranteed in the civil service.”
She pointed out that permanent secretaries and directors that are appointed on merit play an advisory role to ministers.
“I worked with Brigadier Godfrey Miyanda when he was minister of education. And at no time did Brigadier Miyanda interfere in the work of directors and permanent secretaries. The man worked with integrity and credibility. And every senior government official at the ministry of education had to follow suit. Brigadier Miyanda was a good listener who would even used to take time to read every document that came in his position. And because of that he knew all departments at the ministry of education,” recalled Sinyangwe. “That is because he realised that permanent secretaries and directors that he had in his ministry were appointed on merit. And as such, they play an advisory role to ministers.”
The former member of parliament further urged President Hichilema to ensure that he is surrounded by people that would give him honest pieces of advice.
“The President does not work in isolation. He works with Cabinet Ministers, permanent secretaries, directors and some advisors. And the President cannot be everywhere…he needs people to go round the country to check on the challenges and needs of the people. And for him to deliver on the people’s expectations and aspirations he needs people that will be sincere with him and tell him the reality on the ground,” said Sinyangwe. “I personally don’t like keeping quiet when I know I can give advice to someone. We noticed that in PF people that surrounded the President [Edgar Lungu] were blocking citizens, even those that could have been able to offer advice to him; from accessing him on the pretext that he has a busy schedule. That was wrong! For Heavens sake, the republican President is a national trophy…he should be accessible to ordinary citizens for him to appreciate and understand the challenges they are facing. But what we saw in the previous regime was the complete opposite. The people that surrounded the Head of State were blocking people from accessing President. And after he lost power in the August general elections, they have distanced themselves from him…he has remained alone and they are no where near him. It is for reason that I am appealing to the current President [Hakainde Hichilema] to ensure that he is surrounded by people that will give him honest pieces of advice.”
She expressed optimism that President Hichilema will find it prudent to seek advice even from ordinary citizens and listen to their pieces of advice.
