UPND National Chairperson Mutale Nalumango says there is need for a professional civil service where public servants will be protected from political interference.

And Nalumago says President Edgar Lungu is a tribalist using tribe to hire and fire people.

In a statement, Monday, Nalumango expressed sadness on the recent termination of the Public Service Pension Fund CEO Dr Richard Mwiinga’s contract by President Lungu.

“The UPND has learnt with sadness the recent non-renewal of contract for Dr. Richard Mwiinga, the CEO of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF). It has come to our attention that although Dr. Mwiinga was highly assessed by a responsible Board Committee of the Fund, which also recommended renewal, Edgar Lungu decided not to have his contract renewed. If performance is no longer a basis for contract extension for professionals like Dr Mwiinga, what else are we going to use in order to drive this nation forward? There is no country in this world where a nation has progressed without the right professionals in the right fields. Despite the government not remitting contributions to the PSPF, Dr Mwiinga and his team have tried to invest the little they have to ensure that the civil servants retiring have their benefits secured,” she stated.

Nalumango observed that by having a professional civil service, public servants would be protected from politicians like in Dr Mwiinga’s case.

“When we in UPND stress the importance of having a professional civil service, we mean civil servants will be protected from interference from politicians like this particular case. The Public Service Commission (PSC) is the only capable institution to hire competent civil servants with the right qualifications and competencies, and not using tribe to hire or fire people, as the case is for Dr. Mwiinga,” said Nalumango.

“Edgar Lungu is a tribalist and this is a well-known fact that even this cholera that is ravaging Lusaka is as a result of Lungu’s actions where all Doctors who are not his tribes mate have either been fired or transferred to rural areas all because of their surnames. Going forward because enough is enough, we as UPND, want Lungu to set up a commission of inquiry in these dismissals and retirements in ‘national interest’.”