CHIEF Justice Dr Mumba Malila has urged newly-appointed members of the Civil Service Commission not to hesitate when getting rid of individuals that deserve to be fired.

Speaking during a swearing in of commissioners and vice chairpersons of the civil service commission at the Supreme Court, Thursday, Justice Malila noted that recycling individuals that faced disciplinary action was transferring problems from one area to another.

“You should always ensure in doing so that merit is the determining criteria for you in appointments and in promotions. In the same way that you have been appointed on merit, insist on ensuring that those that are going to be appointed by yourselves in various public service positions, merit those positions. When it comes to discipline, again I urge you to allow due process to ensure people exculpate themselves, listen to both sides before you take any action,” he said.

“More importantly, I think it is more important for you as the governors in these public sectors to ensure that those facing disciplinary processes and those whose cases have been proved are not merely recycled and sent to different places. By doing so, you will only be transferring problems from one area to another. Where discipline requires you to get rid individuals from service to do so, do not hesitate to do so but it must be on very proven grounds.”

And Justice Malila implored the commissioners to ensure there was geographical balancing and ethnic representation.

“In your work quite obviously the temptation is great that you should appoint people based on partisan affiliation, on tribe, on nepotistic grounds etc. Avoid that temptation and as I said earlier, the guiding principal should be merit and also geographical representation, ethnical representation in these commissions you have been appointed. I sincerely hope that you will each find time to acquaint yourselves with not only the provisions of the constitution that governs service commission but also the provisions of the commission service act itself so that you understand properly what your limits are and what the dos and don’ts are,” he said.

He urged the commissioners to honour and respect their appointments by discharging duties with integrity and dignity.

“I have no doubt that this was a merited appointment, it in fact shows the appointing authority’s great faith in each one of you. So the appointment which has been made and which you have accepted ought to be appropriately reciprocated and this means you undertake your work with utmost integrity and dignity. The oath that you have taken this morning is a very serious oath, it in fact equates to a public commitment to honour and respect this appointment and to undertake to do the work for which you have been appointed with utmost diligence, integrity, independence,” said Justice Malila.

“In the discharge of your responsibilities in the respective commission in which you have been appointed, the expectations of the public are very high. You have been appointed on merit and part of the responsibilities that you will have to discharge include appointments, transfers, discipline, placements etc of various public service workers.”