If you employ civil servants that is not job creation- political analyst Alex Ng’oma

If you employ civil servants that is not job creation, says Ng’oma

By Thomas Ngala

PEOPLE are still waiting, when exactly is the promised K50 25kg bag of mealie meal coming, asks political analyst Alex Ng’oma.

Dr Ng’oma told The Mast that there appears to be a lot of discontent across the country that the ruling UPND is not fulfilling many of the promises it made to the people while in opposition.

He also criticised the government over job creation among other things.

“There appears to be a lot of discontent across the country that the party in government is not fulfilling many of the promises it made to the people while in the opposition. For example, the people are still waiting when exactly is the promised K50 25kg (bag) of mealie meal coming? When is it coming? And so there is a lot of frustration. There is a lot of disappointment,” Dr Ng’oma said. “If you employ civil servants that is not job creation. If the government has money and you increase CDF (Constituency Development Fund), that is not a campaign promise. [That is] just doing something anyone else can do anyway. But the actual promises that were made are not being fulfilled and there is a lot of frustration in the country.”

On whether the democratic space is shrinking or not, Dr Ng’oma noted that the opposition political parties continue to be refused permission to hold their rallies to mobilise.

“So what kind of a multiparty system is this? So there are a lot of things that are not going right and people are complaining, believe me. Go to the market, people are complaining. Go to churches, people are complaining. Go to bus stops, people are complaining. On the buses people are complaining. Everywhere you go, that is where the problem is,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Ng’oma said it is important for all political parties to own businesses to finance their activities.

He however said in a case where a party forms government, they ought not to use their “businesses” to take advantage of their incumbency to extract money from government.

“In other words, to have their own ways of raising money for their political activities. So much that…two things. One, they are not being manipulated by sponsors who are unknown, who may come and demand a pound of flesh from them should they come and form a government,” said Dr Ng’oma. “Secondly, so that when they form a government they do not depend entirely on the government coffers to sustain themselves. That is why it is very important for political parties to be entrepreneurial. I think if political parties have their own investments, they have to be very careful such that when they form government then they should not begin to take advantage of their incumbency to extract money from the government through dubious means. That is why I say we have to look at this a little bit more carefully. Otherwise, it is really strongly advised that political parties should find ways of raising their own income, independent of government coffers. Whether they are in government or not, they must be more enterprising a bit more to raise money to sustain themselves.”-THE MAST