UPND has purged many civil servants – Kalaba

By BARNABAS ZULU

CITIZENS’ First leader Harry Kalaba has condemned the UPND government for having embarked on a crusade of purging civil servants based on tribal and political lines, calling it a disservice to the nation.
Speaking during the Hot Seat on Hot FM on Thursday, Mr. Kalaba condemned the practice of removing civil servants from their positions solely due to their tribal affiliations or political loyalties.
“It does not matter for me whether you are coming from Luapula, where I come from, that I should make you a permanent secretary at State House because you are coming from a village near mine.
So what if you are coming from a village near me? It does not make sense,” Mr. Kalaba said. “What we need is to have the right people in the right positions, not where they come from. That should come to an end.”
Mr. Kalaba emphasised the importance of merit-based governance and the need to maintain unity in the country.
“This country requires that we should realise that if we do not build on the strength that Dr. Kenneth Kaunda built for us, One Zambia, One Nation, motto, it would have been difficult for us to run the affairs of this country,” he explained.
“For the last 60 years of our independence, we have run this country peacefully because our forefathers, Kaunda then and his colleagues, insisted on a meritocratic kind of governance. They insisted on knowing that once we work together, the country will develop,” Mr Kalaba said.
He has warned that the practice of appointing individuals based on personal connections, rather than qualifications, would harm the nation’s progress.
This trend we are seeing of insisting on people that I know, people that are my kinsmen, people that I think will support me, people that are in my political party will not work.
We in the CF (Citizens First) are saying that the leadership that will bring people together is what is needed. Even those, if we find that you are good and you are professional and we think that you can contribute to the well-being of the country, why not be part of service?”
Mr. Kalaba also pointed to the need for Zambia to learn from other countries, especially within the SADC region, on how to manage national affairs effectively.
“We must begin learning and picking examples from other jurisdictions, other countries, even within the SADC region, how they manage the affairs of the nation,” he said.
“You can’t have a country where Kalaba becomes a president, all PSs (Permanent Secretaries) kuyabebele, all directors kuyabebele, assistant directors are supposed to go,” Mr Kalaba said.
He stressed the value of experience within the civil service.
“”What you need to understand is that some of these people that you are replacing have worked through their ranks. I was a civil servant for over 10 years and I was rising through the ranks. So when you come in government and remove me, forgetting that the civil service is the one that employed me based on my qualifications, you are doing a disservice to the nation.”