UPND vice-president Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba says once in government, the UPND shall reinstate all those who have been illegally retired in national and public interest.

And Mwamba says that the UPND government shall correct the large-scale damage that the Patriotic Front has caused to State institutions.

In the UPND’s weekly newsletter to News Diggers! Mwamba charged that within a short period of being in power, the Patriotic Front had completely destroyed State institutions and the three arms of government.

“What has been happening in the short period of PF reign (rather misrule) is not by accident, but a well calculated scheme by the PF to render all credible institutions weak and subservient to themselves, so that they may go about their wanton corruption and pillage unchecked! For short-term political survival, the PF has completely ransacked State institutions, the long-term impacts of which will be felt for generations to come,” Mwamba stated.

He charged that the Zambia Police Service had effectively been turned into a wing of the PF because they could not dare go against the wishes of the ruling party.

“The State Police is supposed to provide requisite services to all Zambians without fear or favour. However, under the PF regime, State Police has mutated into something else. Out of coercion, the State Police is for all intents and purposes, an appendage of the ruling party. The nation still remembers how the spokesperson for the President was captured in an audio commanding the Inspector General of Police to deal with the opposition; the IG consistently accented to irregular instructions from an apparent ‘civil servant’,” he noted.

“This is the reality we live in under the PF; the police cannot dare go against the wishes of PF. The recent events after the Sesheke by-election demonstrate the extent to which the PF can go to threaten women and men in uniform. At this rate, the police has effectively been turned into a wing of the PF!”

And Mwamba noted that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)) had been rendered ineffective since the PF ascended to power.

“ECZ is expected to manage elections in line with the wishes of all participating political actors. Unfortunately, since PF ascended to power, ECZ had increasingly been rendered ineffective. During the 2016 general elections, one Sam Chavula was caught in an ECZ-secured room at the Totalling Centre, Mulungushi International Conference Hall. Although Chavula was apprehended and handed to the police, he was let to go scot-free and has not been heard of since! This level of impunity is unprecedented and sends very negative signals about the integrity of the institution entrusted with managing elections in the country,” he stated.

Mwamba charged that the PF’s determination to destroy all State institutions had not spared the Legislature, Judiciary and Executive.

“Even PF carders now have the audacity to threaten Judiciary officers! A former SG (Mr Davies Chama) issued his own threats against Judges; in the aftermath of the 2016 elections and following the filling-in of a petition by the opposition, a well-known PF carder, Max Chongu, accompanied by a horde of other charlatans, established camp within the grounds of the High Court, threateningly awaiting the court’s ruling on the petition,” he recalled.

“The PF determination to destroy all State institutions has not spared the Legislature. The National Assembly is supposed to be a collection of people’s representatives, who stand for the electorate and protect their interests; it is difficult to gauge whose interests the current National Assembly serves if they cannot pass legislation to ensure retirees’ timely pension payments and reinstatement of the students’ meal allowances. The PF habit of meddling with State institutions has been extended to the civil service, where permanent secretaries receive orders from political appointees!”

Meanwhile, Mwamba pledged that a UPND government will correct the damage caused to State Institutions caused by the PF government.

He promised that the UPND would reinstate all those who had been retired in national and public interest as well as appoint competent men and women to key positions of all arms of government, among other measures.

“Being cognisant of the large-scale damage that PF has caused to our State institutions, a UPND government will set about to correct the situation. The UPND acknowledges that strong institutions are important in order to allow citizens pursue their individual and collective interests in an atmosphere free of intimidation and allow each to excel as per their abilities. The UPND shall work to ensure the integrity of all State institutions by, among other measures, doing the following: We will reinstate all those who have been retired in national and public interest; it is clear that there is victimisation of people who hail from some parts of the country,” stated Mwamba.

“We will take an inventory of all carders who have been employed from 2011 onwards, retain those who show remorse and retire those who do not. UPND will undertake an audit of all State institutions with a view of the implementation reforms aimed at improving their effectiveness. We shall appoint competent men and women regardless of creed or tribe to key positions of all arms of government and ensure that all institutions are competently managed. Our government will develop and implement a national consciousness programme that extols the virtues of nationalism, abhors sectionalism and promotes national cohesion.”