STOP VICTIMISING INNOCENT CIVIL SERVANTS, UPND URGED
… Those people you are firing are Zambisns
THE UPND government should stop firing and transferring civil servants and public workers on suspicion of being Patriotic Party (PF) sympathisers or coming from certain regions.
Those innocent men and women the government is victimising through unfair dismissals and punitive transfers are Zambian citizens who should be allowed to enjoy their freedoms enshrined in the republican Constitution.
The panic that has gripped the regime over the leaked list of 50 police officers who have been earmarked for dismissal has exposed the UPND’s penchant for vengeance.
The speed at which Police Service Commission Chairman Peter Machungwa and Ministry of Information and Media mouthpiece Thabo Kawana moved to dismiss the list of police officers marked for dismissal, including former President Dr Edgar Lungu’s aide de camp (ADC), is evidence enough that they have been caught pants down.
If it is indeed true that the police officers have been recommended for dismissal when they have not committed any offence then it confirms fears that the UPND is bent on destroying the unity this country has enjoyed over the decades.
We are aware that thousands of innocent Zambians have been hounded out of employment for political reasons since the UPND assumed power, and more are being fired.
We warn Dr Machungwa and other people who are being used to victimise innocent fellow Zambians to bear in mind that a time will come when they will be held to account in their individual capacities.
They should therefore resist being used as tools of oppression to appease those who gave them the jobs.
Sending innocent civil servants and public workers onto the streets on account of their suspected political affiliation or the region they come from is not only callous but also irresponsible.
It’s a sheer abuse of political power, which has the potential to backfire.
Those people have families and friends who are aggrieved by the unfair dismissals. What the UPND regime and its surrogates must know is that the more people they fire unfairly the more enemies they are creating for themselves.
Our advice is that the government must rescind the decision to fire those 50 police officers.
Zambians are watching.
Issued by:
EDWIN LIFWEKELO
PF Deputy Media Director.