PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA’S EXTENDED MESSAGE TO DEFENSE FORCES.
We remain grateful and indebted for your service and sacrifice to our country and our people.
We are acutely aware of some of the critical challenges Zambia’s defense forces continue to face.
We feel duty bound to make clear some of our tangible commitments towards a roadmap aimed at resolving the challenges you face in the course of your selfless service to our country and our people.
We wish to reiterate, that in honouring the service and sacrifice of our service personnel and their families, it is vitally important that the UPND administration deliberately and actively invests in the welfare of our service personnel and their families, as well as investing in military training and technology to make it easier for our service personnel to diligently serve our country.
This is why in honouring the service and sacrifice of our service personnel, the UPND administration wishes to commit to the following roadmap:
1. Maintain stability and integrity of our defense force by ensuring a predictable, meritorious staff retention plan across all ranks. No service personnel, irrespective of their rank, will ever have to serve in fear of losing their job.
2. Discharge in full the retirement benefits of all retired service personnel under ZAF, Zambia Army and ZNS, including the police. Our service personnel must be honoured during both their active and post service years.
3. Discharge in full all claims relating to outstanding allowances, among them settling allowances.
4. We intend to fully revive and bring to life the notching system in our service system by creating sufficient economic capacity for better funding support across the service system.
5. Service personnel who serve on UN missions to be paid their allowances in full and without undue delay.
6. We also intend to fully operationalize the local manufacturing of defence force uniforms and associated kits. This will not only spur local job creation but also instill a deep sense of pride in our service personnel.
7. We also intend to fully exploit the potential of ZNS in infrastructure development as a way of creating jobs and supporting skills development in our country.
We further emphasize, that the dedication, honour and service of all our service personnel can only be repaid by a national leadership which will commit itself to reciprocating the values cherished and propagated by our defense personnel.
Issued: Anthony Bwalya
UPND Presidential Spokesperson
14 June 2021