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—Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chileshe Mulenga has called for commitment, discipline and responsibility in the civil service.
Dr Mulenga said this when he addressed civil servants in Nyimba and Petauke district in separate meeting that there is need for all public workers to be responsible to provide a platform for the private sector to thrive.
He stated that the public sector is the main driver to economic growth as it provides an enabling environment for the private sector to perform.
Dr Mulenga noted lack of commitment, discipline and responsibility has negatively affected the economy of the country.
He stated that there are high levels of corruption in the civil service where undeserving people get to benefit where they are not supposed to.
He disclosed that a named officer from the department of social welfare provided a fake list of beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) in order to benefit from the programme meant to help the vulnerable as a case of corruption.
Dr Chileshe said there is need for transparency and accountability saying the absence of the two raised suspicion of corruption.
He stated that the officer has since been suspended and the matter is under investigations saying the named officer will have to face the wrath of the law.
The Permanent Secretary also noted that some workers always demand commission for service delivery even when they are not supposed to.
He stated there is need for people in the public sector to abide by government regulations in order to move the development agenda forward.
Meanwhile, Dr Mulenga noted that the biggest challenge in the province is that supervisors are reluctant to take disciplinary action against erring officers.
He also expressed concern that there is poor time keeping adding most people in the civil service spend their time carrying out private errands at the expense of government work.
And Dr Mulenga warned that he will charge supervising officers who fail to discipline their subordinates and emphasized the need for fairness when taking disciplinary action among workers.
The Permanent Secretary said government regulations should apply to all and stressed the need for supervisors not to be selective when taking disciplinary action against erring subordinates.
He stressed the need for supervising officers to be beacons of discipline and work in a harmonious environment saying only then will productivity levels improve.
He also stated that all workers should work in a peaceful and harmonious environment for all.
Dr Chileshe held another meeting with the civil service in Petauke where he echoed his calls for responsibility to duty.
He advised the workers to avoid writing anonymous letters and stated that he will not act on such letters.
“You need to come out in the open and explain suspicious issues at their places of work, as there is a provision to protect whistle blowers, you will be protected,” he said.
