2)–Poor pupil reading culture worries govt

—-A UPND member in Kaoma district of Western Province says civil servants engaging in partisan politics in the area should immediately resign from their positions as they were compromising their public service input.

Kenny Ndumba, the former MMD Kaoma district youth chairman who recently defected to the opposition UPND claimed that some teachers in Kaoma district have abandoned classes and were busy campaigning for the forthcoming Mangango parliamentary by-election at the expense of providing a service to the pupils.

Mr Ndumba said it has been noted with concern that some government functionaries are at a standstill because of some civil servants’ involvement in politics following the recent Supreme Court’s nullification of the Mangango seat which was held by Taundi Chiseke.

He said regulations for public service workers are clear and they require that civil servants who wish to engage in politics resign from their positions regardless of which political party they are seeking to represent.

But representatives from the Zambia Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) and Basic Education Teachers’ Union of Zambia (BETUZ) said the unions can only act on the alleged partisan conduct of such civil servants if their particular supervisors raise concerns.

ZCTU provincial co-ordinator John Mukosai expressed the union mother body’s uneasiness over some civil servants’ engagement in politics and said action will be taken against those found erring so that sanity could be brought to the district upon official receipt of such complaints.

Mr Mukosai, who is also BETUZ Western Provincial chairperson, said the work of unions is to protect workers from victimization by their employers and urged employees to ensure that they do not violate  government regulations.

Meanwhile, BETUZ Kaoma district chairperson, Inambao Mutata said teachers absconding classes in preference to politics should be reported to the district education board secretary for appropriate action.

Mr Mutata said every teacher has a union that they belong to which has the responsibility of disciplining them based on the civil service regulations.

He said as a union leadership in the district it will not allow teachers to engage themselves in politics because civil service regulations are there for all government workers to observe.