Levy drops Cifire
Levy drops CifireBy Bivan Saluseki
Tuesday April 24, 2007 [04:00]
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa has dropped health minister Angela Cifire and replaced information minister Vernon Mwaanga with foreign affairs deputy minister Mike Mulongoti. President Mwanawasa yesterday replaced Cifire with science and technology minister Dr Brian Chituwo.
Cifire when contacted yesterday said she was not aware of the changes.
"Ooh I don't know. I am not aware," said Cifire when informed about the reshuffle.
Communications and transport minister Peter Daka has replaced Dr Chituwo at science and technology while gender and women in development minister Sarah Sayifwanda has replaced Daka.
President Mwanawasa’s special assistant for press and public relations John Muskuma said President Mwanawasa had elevated sport, youth and child development deputy minister Patricia Mulasikwanda as cabinet minister for gender and women in development.
President Mwanawasa has transferred commerce, trade and industry minister Kenneth Konga to the Ministry of Energy in the same capacity, while Felix Mutati has been transferred to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In his letter of appointment to Dr Chituwo, President Mwanawasa asked him to ensure that abolition of user fees did not result in the deterioration of the quality of health care currently being provided in rural areas.
He said Dr Chituwo should ensure a systematic and phased extension of the abolition of user fees programme in health institutions to the urban areas as well as ensure that the procurement of medicines and other medical requisites were done efficiently and transparently so that the country did not experience shortages of critical drugs in health institutions.
“Ensure that an attractive reward package for core clinical staff, namely; doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technologies is put in place so that the said staff are attracted to work in rural areas,” he said.
President Mwanawasa directed Konga to devote particular attention towards ensuring that the Rural Electrification Programme was working satisfactorily so that the country could access electrical power.
He advised Konga to ensure that the programme to turn Indeni into a profitable and efficiently run refinery was a matter of urgency.
For Mutati, President Mwanawasa advised him to ensure that issues of internal trade and citizen’s empowerment were given the most urgent attention.
“This is not to say that issues of foreign trade are not important but that we cannot make meaningful progress and create employment and wealth if we do not attend to matters of internal trade and citizen’s economic empowerment,” he said.
“It is therefore important that we should ensure that all legislative measures that we have put in place and any other that we shall introduce are fully implemented for the benefit of our people.”
And in a letter to Sayifwanda, President Mwanawasa directed her to ensure that the matter of the establishment of the national airline was speedily concluded and brought to Cabinet for a decision.
He directed Sayifwanda to finalise Cabinet memorandum on the issues of the liberalisation of the international gateway and make a submission to Cabinet for a final decision.
posted by MrK @ 3:51 AM
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