By Daily Revelation Reporter
Ministry of Information media director Thabo Kawana says what is viewed as a ‘demotion’ of Chellah Tukuta from being State House photographer to communications secretary at the Zambian Embassy in Brazil, among the junior most positions in the foreign service hierarchy, has nothing to do with demotion.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Kawana said Tukuta has gone into the foreign service and joined part of the country’s diplomatic corp, and therefore he is a member of staff and diplomat from Zambia.
He said Tukuta will be part of the support staff to the Zambian Ambassador to that country.
“So he’s going to do his work. It’s like people saying if you were an army commander and you are sent into foreign service as High Commissioner or Ambassador, some people will say that is the level of an assistant director in the Ministry. But it has got its own role, and it’s got its own way and its own notch. So the two cannot be compared,” Kawana said. “You cannot say for example Emmanuel Mwamba, who was permanent secretary and was sent as High Commissioner or Ambassador, you can say that he was demoted. No he wasn’t. He was given a different assignment in foreign service. So Chellah Tukuta who was State House photographer has now gone into foreign missions. He has been given an entire different role in the government. And his role there is to join the diplomatic core to assist our designated ambassador there as a member of the support staff.”
The support staff to the head of mission Kawana referred to in the order of hierarchy includes the deputy High Commissioner or deputy ambassador, first secretaries for trade, administration, protocol, Economics, Press, defence, Tourism, second secretaries and then third secretaries i.e secretary to the ambassador and also communications.
“There is no demotion or promotion. There is re-assignment,” Kawana said, and speaking directly on the communications position assigned to Tukuta, among the lowest in mission ranking, Kawana insisted that the former State House photographer has simply been re-assigned. “There is no comparison especially that it is a re-assignment.”
Kawana said anyone who has worked in the foreign service was aware about the advanced perks those in the foreign service get.
“Weo ungachite compare salary ya camera man waku State House namumtu ali ku foreign service (You can you compare the salary of a camera man at State House with someone who is in the foreign service)? Can you do that? Ofola zininji nibani (who gets more)?” Kawana asked. “You see, we can not be calling it a demotion on one end koma muntu kuyakine oko beula on the other end (when someone is getting rich on the other end). So where is demotion? Bottom line here is it’s a re-assignment. Ngoya kumvwa bwino mambala lomba (the crook is now feeling nice).”
The media team at State House comprised of Clayton Hamasaka as media director, Anthony Bwalya (presidential spokesperson), Brian Mwiinga (State House analyst), Frederick Misebezi (State House analyst) and Tukuta as photographer, but Tukuta has now since left.
“I want to put it on record that Chellah Tukuta voluntarily asked that he be re-assigned. Kwemutinka ku State House mwine wake kuti yayi me I want to go into foreign service. So he personally asked to be re-assigned and he was given the latitude to choose where he asked to go and he chose Brazil,” Kawana said. “How can you now start saying now he has been gotten rid of? No one has gotten rid of Chellah. Chellah asked that I want to be re-assigned into foreign service. Okay granted. Is there a specific country you want to go to? (He said) yes I want to go to Brazil. Again granted. And today he’s going to Brazil.”
Kawana said he did not mind from which tribe someone to replace Tukuta hails from.
“The photographer at State House has been re-assigned into foreign service. His replacement will be a photographer. The government does not deal in tribal connotations and so on. The government deals in positions. The position of the photographer at State House the occupant has left it, therefore the next occupant will occupy the office of the photographer,” said Kawana. “And I can confirm with you right now that there is already a photographer seconded to State House from ZANIS, whose name I don’t know, therefore it goes that whose tribe I don’t know. But I know that there is a photographer there from ZANIS.”
