VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina says Finance Minister Dr Bwalya Ng’andu will soon furnish Parliament with details of how mechanisms being put in place to address the issue of civil servants being indebted to financial institutions will be implemented.
And Vice-President Wina says a huge number of councillors are joining the PF after resigning from the UPND because of high levels of intolerance in the opposition party.
She said this during the Vice-President’s Question Time in Parliament, Friday morning.
Chimwemwe Independent member of parliament Elias Mwila asked how prepared government was to discuss options of bailing out civil servants, such as teachers, police officers and nurses, as a good number of them were getting negative salaries due to heavy panic loan deductions and deductible figures, which kept increasing.
In response, Vice-President Wina said government was taking action to address the matter.
“Government would not like to see its civil servants being indebted to financial institutions and government is taking action to address this matter. The Minister of Finance will furnish the House with details of how the mechanisms being put in place to address this issue will be undertaken,” Vice-President Wina said in response.
Asked by Lubansenshi PF member of parliament George Mwamba on what was causing a huge number of councillors to resign from UPND and join PF, the Vice-President said it was due high levels of intolerance in the opposition party, among several other factors.
“There are many factors contributing to this exodus of councillors from UPND and one of these is the high levels of intolerance in UPND. The newcomers to the party are finding this very uncomfortable and that’s why some of them are leaving. And some are leaving because they cannot operate under a very undemocratic party where councillors are forbidden from interacting with government officials. Councillors want to see development in their wards and if they are forbidden from going to a government Ministry to discuss issues of development, then they get frustrated and leave. UPND officials should not complain whatsoever. And there is no PF that is buying any councillor, we don’t have those resources to undertake such an exercise,” Vice-President Wina said.
And Vice-President Wina said the Ministry of General Education had put in place programmes to reach out to rural pupils.
She explained that in conjunction with UNICEF, the Ministry had secured some radios and other reading materials in local languages for rural school children uags to ensure they were not left out.
“Of course, we do realize that there is no electricity in some parts of the country and sometimes radio reception is not very clear, but government, through the Ministry of General Education, is doing everything possible to reach out to all the pupils in our rural schools,” said Vice-President Wina when responding to a question from Chiengi FDD member of parliament Given Katuta who asked: “The children and parents of Chiengi would like to find out from the hardworking PF government the efforts that it’s making to reach out to the students and pupils, who are staying at home during the time of COVID. The children of Chiengi do not have access to computers or modern kind of communication that can enable them to learn as other children are doing because their parents cannot even afford television [sets].”
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dear Diggers, the Educational Authorities in Zambia may have left out a key source of solutions to literacy problems being faced by the pupils in Chiengi and other districts in our country. These are the teachers they employ, owns and controls on behalf of the Zambians. We the class teachers sit in class with the pupils to implement the the policies arrived at at high powered meetings. And weather these policies succeed or fail its us who know first hand before we inform the high powers through the established channels. We and again I say it WE are the best weapons in the hands of government to fight the COVID 19 enforced problems in our education system. And we are doing it.
The biggest problem is that the high powers who send us to the educational battle front are NOT as willing to hear our experiences and possible suggestions on the challenges we have seen while on the tour of duty at the educational battle front as they are for the results of our battle.
I have INNOVATED a New Normal format of writing school books that are SUITED to the COVID 19 enforced crises on our education system. Books that will breach the COVID 19 lock downs and make education to effectively take place from the comfort of home even in the worst periods of the pandemic. But for the INNOVATION to move from Mwense here to Lusaka its like a journey to Heaven.
Your Honor the Vice President and the Hon. MP for Chiengi, please take time from your very very busy schedules and allow me to present this innovation to you on behalf of or in the presence the Educational Authorities in charge of publishing of school books. Mom, you will NOT be disappointed. In fact, you will be very proud of what your civil servants in the rural areas are able to contribute to the education system.
The book i have INNOVATED and gotten a Copyright for is ISOMENE; READ FOR YOURSELF. A SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITY BOOK FOR PRIMARY LEVEL LITERACY.
Mom, it is so painful that i have to reach such extreme and somehow risky measures to make a good thing come to the beloved people of GOD who need it.
God bless His Excellency the President for his unrelenting call to ADJUST TO THE NEW NORMAL. The question is “How are we in the education system responding to Dr Lungu’s bidding to adjust and ensure the MOST vulnerable grade one Literacy learners don’t get left out?
i have commented. where is my comment?