CSAWU accuses directors of frustrating govt

CSAWU accuses directors of frustrating govt
By Roy Habaalu
Fri 09 Nov. 2012, 14:00 CAT

THE body representing civil servants in Zambia says directors and their deputies are the ones frustrating government efforts and want the PF government to fail.

Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union (CSAWU) general secretary Joy Beene yesterday said directors and their deputies were the same people whose loyalty and allegiance was to the MMD.

"It's unfortunate that it's happening at a high level of director and deputy and probably at permanent secretary levels. Our members who are junior in rank can't frustrate government efforts because they are the same people who woke up early in the morning on September 20, 2011 last year to go and change government. Why should they today frustrate government? It's those that don't merit the jobs," said Beene.

Recently, President Michael Sata said there were civil servants still aligned to the MMD regime who wanted to frustrate his administration.

And Vice-President Guy Scott recently said some 'mambala' civil servants were frustrating government developmental efforts and would soon be removed.

But Beene said those frustrating the government were not appointed on merit.

He said until those aligned to MMD were removed, the frustration would continue because their allegiance was not with the government.

Beene said the biggest challenge was to depoliticise operations of the civil service.

"From time immemorial, the problem is that the civil service has never been free. It has been politicised. We saw it in UNIP under MMD the civil service was heavily politicised. The civil service is politicised in the way of recruitment, appointment and promotion," he said.

Beene said until the public service commission was properly utilised, problems in the civil service would continue.

"We are the technocrats. We are not politicians. Politicians come and go. No civil servant can fail to carry out a directive from Cabinet," said Beene.