Maravi

PF lacks 'clear' policyfor job creation - Muhabi
By Stuart Lisulo
Sun 08 Dec. 2013, 14:00 CAT

MMD presidential spokesperson Muhabi Lungu says the PF lacks a clear labour policy for job creation. And Lungu says labour minister Fackson Shamenda's claim that MMD froze 100 jobs is "diverting attention" from the PF's core promises to provide jobs to the Zambian youth.

In an interview, Lungu said the wage freeze and moratorium on the recruitment of labour as stipulated in the 2014 national budget throws into question the government's 'seriousness' about creating jobs.

"About six months when they came into power, they PF said they would create jobs for the youth by a national service scheme compulsory national youth service skills training for school-leavers announced in July 2012; what has happened to that scheme? After a few people criticised it, they went blank on it. Then they said they would come up with a jobs creation framework, we've never seen a jobs creation framework. In their first year, they said they would create over 200,000 jobs; those jobs in the 2012 budget were never created," Lungu said.

He questioned how the government would create jobs given the recruitment and wage freeze.

"If you have said there is going to be a wage freeze and there is going to be a moratorium on recruitment of labour for 2014, surely, is that a government that is serious about creating jobs?" Lungu asked.

And reacting to Shamenda's claim during ZNBC's Sunday Interview last week that the MMD regime 'secretly froze' about a 100 jobs, Lungu said Shamenda was "diverting attention" from the PF's core responsibility and promise to provide jobs for Zambia's youths.

"In their third year, they are saying they have created 300,000 official: 354,508 jobs which they can't quantify, so what rationality is there in bringing about 100 jobs that MMD may have frozen three years ago? I think that it is nonsensical, it is childish and the Minister of Labour should give us a different story. If they have failed to create jobs, they should just accept that they have failed to create jobs instead of taking people back to three years ago," said Lungu.

"And why should a government that has made an official announcement that they will put a wage freeze and a deferment of recruiting labour be reminding us of what the MMD did three years ago? That is being disingenuous, so they don't have a clear labour policy, and I dispute they have created 300,000 official: 354,508 jobs in the formal sector in the last two and a half years."

Labels: MUHABI LUNGU, PF

posted by MrK @ 3:08 PM