🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Kalaba Faces Backlash Over K700 Salary Increment Remarks
Social media has erupted after Citizens First leader Harry Kalaba dismissed the newly negotiated K700 salary increment for civil servants as “a mockery,” arguing that it falls short of restoring dignity to public service workers.
Kalaba’s statement, posted online, immediately triggered a wave of reactions, with many users accusing the opposition figure of undermining a rare concession achieved through formal labour negotiations.
The development comes as government and public service unions concluded talks on improved conditions of service, agreeing on the K700 adjustment to basic pay.
Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Blake Mulala described the increment as a “win-win outcome,” saying the adjustment is expected to unlock additional benefits for workers beyond the headline figure.
Online responses to Kalaba’s criticism were sharply divided.
Some commenters mocked the Citizens First leader’s framing, with one writing: “Voting for you in August will be chibeleshi,” while others urged him to acknowledge progress rather than dismiss it outright.
Several users also questioned Kalaba’s record in government, arguing that former PF-era officials now positioning themselves as champions of workers must explain what they delivered when in office.
Supporters of the increment noted that while the raise may not fully match cost-of-living pressures, it represents a negotiated step forward in a constrained fiscal environment.
The episode underscores a wider challenge for opposition messaging ahead of 2026: balancing legitimate critique of economic hardship with public expectations for constructive engagement when incremental gains are made.
For civil servants, the K700 increment may not end the debate on wages, but it has become a flashpoint in the political contest over who truly speaks for workers’ dignity.
© The People’s Brief | Goran Handya
That’s K8,400 per annum. Not bad at all.
This boy is an under five. Never serious. He has forgotten civil service workers were wallowing on a slave pittance when he posted on social media as Foreign Affairs minister that he was in Israel enjoying the beach and sunshine with his boss then Edgar Lungu?
Today he wants to jealously disparage a well negotiated K700 that will add a bag of Millie meal and 3 chickens to the month of a family in Matero and Chibolya or four goats to a kraal in Nyimba and two weaned calves to a kraal in Lusitu?
The fool is clueless how people are living in rural Zambia. He just knows how much he gives his several girlfriends in Lusaka and Kitwe, many of whom have abandoned and neglected children by him!!!!
No wonder he gets zero votes everywhere. I expected him to congratulate the union CSAWUZ chairman and his team and the government team for the successful negotiations or humbly ask his ADC what it means because by his foolish comment he has shown beyond doubt that he does not have a clue what is going on amongst civil servants below Director level.
This is largely because his only interaction with the civil service was when he was minister “enjoying with his boss” and having empty and flat unminuted meetings with the PS and directors…no contact with those below and those outside Lusaka and the copper belt.
He will never be president because he is a fool.
I rest my case.
Retired senior.
We in the other sectors are waiting on government through the labour ministry to adjust the minimum wage