CROOKEDNESS IN CIVIL SERVICE: GENUINE HUMAN RESOURCE AND GOVERNMENT FACILITY AUDITS COULD BE THE SOLUTION
Revelation by Health Minister Sylvia Masebo of discrepancies in the nunber of actual health facilities and those officially documented breaks my moral nerves.
The inflation of the facilities was perhaps meant to have more number for pending recruitment of health workers for those who did that’s benefits.
The discovery of ghost health facilities truly make very sad readings for the country and signals the level and extent at which crookedness in the civil service had reached in the previous administration.
In ministerial statement in Parliament on Friday, 25 March, 2022, Masebo revealed that 161 rural health centres were recorded in Central Province when officially 121 centres were documented, giving an extra 40 ghost facilities that were to benefit from this pending recruitment of health workers.
In Eastern Province, 199 were recorded and submitted to ministry headquarters against 153 official documentation, giving an extra 49 rural health centres.
Perhaps these are the extra fugures across the country and the country was to lose huge sums of money through this scheme of supplying ghost facilities.
This is kind of information is what Zambians need to make their own informed decision and commentaries and this is how a country can create and promote democracy with people on board.
Without information, the country pursues a type of democracy without people.
With the revelation from Minister Masebo, the acts by the civil servants involved were pure acts of croockednes, dishonest and must be halted forthwith and the culprits dismissed without negotiations.
Where did these officers want to do with or take the extra facilities submitted to the ministry against official existing centres?
Did they want extra nunbers of recruitees so that they pocket the money meant for them and boast of being rich out of that money?
To create ghost workers and pocket the money meant for these ghost workers for the ghost health centres, is the worst kind crookedness and unpatriotism?
Where were/are and what role did the Provicial & District health directors play for them to have given a blind eye to not even have detected this fraud or they are/were also accomplices to this unpatriotic conduct?
What about provincial administration (Ministers, PSs, DPSs) and what about the Local Authority Administration (Mayors, council secretaries, Councilors) not to notice all this crookedness and fraud?
Is this a sign of the eye working alone and the ear also working alone i.e. lack of coordination and inclusive consultations?
All these people (DCs, ministers, PSs, Mayors, Councilors, council secretaries, provinci directors, MPs, etal) have done their familiarisation tours of their provinces and districts and what were they finding out on the ground for them to have allowed the passage of such discrepancies?
Perhaps this why there is need to make impromptu visits by these officials away from tours organised by the same crooks.
The crooks will take you to sampled places where they know things are working and make a generalised position.
Civil servants must be patriotic, honest and fair to the nation than being so too selfish and want to squeeze every ngwee from the treasury.
Let true audit of all facilities, staff establishments and actual human resources in all purported health and educational facilities including police and other government institutions like prisons, councils, Army among others and the country may be shocked at how such ghost facilities existed but getting government funding.
Crookedness, dishonest, thieving and love for unworked for money was and still is their DNA of some civil servant employed by the previous administration which is against the nation’s national values and principles.
Ministry of Health is just but an iceberg because Minister Masebo is very proactive hence this unearthing of the ghost facility scandal.
Now, people will appreciate and understand why recruitment of the 41000 civil servants has delayed.
Ministry of education is next…watch the space.
Elected leaders must help President HH otherwise keeping quiet when there are such scandals in your ministries is undermining the presidency.
I submit
McDonald Chipenzi