Former Chiengi Member of Parliament Ms Given Katuta demanded that Government publish the names of civil servants lined up for dismissal over allegedly supporting the opposition. She also called for the evidence against each of them to be made public, saying dismissals without proof amount to injustice.
Ms Katuta, who stood as an independent presidential candidate in the August general election, was responding to remarks attributed to a senior UPND official that more civil servants seen as working against President Hakainde Hichilema would be removed.
She said threatening public workers with dismissal “in the national interest” without any evidence of wrongdoing was a serious injustice inflicted by Government on its own people. She set out three demands on behalf of citizens.
“We therefore demand as citizens: Publish the list. Who are these civil servants? From which ministries and departments?” Ms Katuta said.
“Show the evidence. How did they work against the government? Where is the proof? Follow due process. Civil servants serve the Republic of Zambia, not a political party.”
Ms Katuta questioned whether it was fair for the ruling UPND to condemn workers in this way without giving them access to due process. She said the reports had left her deeply troubled. “Is this fair? Is this unity?” she asked. “My heart is heavy.”
She traced the pattern back to the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), where she said all employees had been dismissed. In her view, the civil service was now facing the same treatment.
“First, it was the firing of all ZAMMSA employees. Now it is civil servants to be ‘retired in the national interest’. Where is the fairness in this?” Ms Katuta said.
“If someone has a case to answer, let the law take its course. But to condemn a whole group and label them as ‘working against government’ without evidence is not justice.”
Ms Katuta said Government would struggle to promote unity if it continued to target anyone it perceived to be sympathetic to the opposition. She warned that the country was already in a tense atmosphere and that any attempt to inflame it further would be catastrophic.
She pointed to the timing of the remarks, which came soon after the nation observed the Day of Prayer, Fasting and Reconciliation on 18 October.
“My question is simple: How does this promote unity? Our country is already tense,” she said. “We talked about forgiveness, like President Mwanawasa forgiving President Sata. Now, a day later, we are talking about more firings?”
“This will not unite us. It will divide us more. It will create fear in the civil service instead of professionalism.”
Ms Katuta said those responsible for running a disciplined civil service should follow established procedure rather than resort to what she described as emotional blackmail. She called for an immediate halt to what she termed blanket dismissals.
“What is the best way forward? For now, stop this blanket firing. Use disciplinary procedures. Give people a chance to be heard. That is what the law says,” she said.
Looking further ahead, she argued for a public service insulated from party politics. “For the future, let us depoliticise the civil service. Let us remember that governments come and go, but Zambia remains,” Ms Katuta said.
“A teacher, a nurse, a clerk is not UPND or NRPUP or PF; they are Zambians serving Zambians.”
She closed her appeal with a call for genuine reconciliation, saying the nation could only move forward if leaders chose healing over punishment.
“Let us choose reconciliation over retribution. Unity over victimisation. Zambia is bigger than all of us,” she said.
ZAMMSA, the agency Ms Katuta cited, is currently advertising 23 categories of vacancies, from quality assurance and laboratory services to finance, internal audit and risk management. Applications close on 25 October.
Her three demands remain on the table: publish the list, show the evidence and follow due process for every civil servant named.
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