Statement for immediate release
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The Barracks Demand Stewardship, not Politics. A Reminder to General Zyeele
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When Lieutenant General Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele assumed command of the Zambia Army, the nation expected a disciplined focus on state security, military modernization, and internal institutional health. Instead, a concerning pattern has emerged.
The Army Commander’s frequent visibility in political and policy spaces outside the traditional scope of defense stands in stark contrast to a brewing crisis within the military’s domestic administration, unpaid suppliers, stalled local economies and the compounding hardships faced by citizens who depend on those military contracts to feed their families and educate their children.
It is a foundational tenet of our democracy that the military remains fiercely non partisan and structurally focused. While the Commander holds a mandate over strategic national security an Army cannot be strong externally if it is rotting financially from within.
Reports of small scale entrepreneurs and local suppliers waiting indefinitely for payments have crossed the line from a bureaucratic nuisance to a humanitarian issue. Behind every unpaid supply invoice is a business laying off workers, a family struggling to put food on the table, and children being turned away from classrooms because school fees cannot be paid
The defense leadership may argue that financial disbursements are strictly the domain of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence treasury. This is technically true, but leadership does not exist in a vacuum of technicalities. An Army Commander is not merely an operational officer, he is the chief advocate for the welfare of his institution and the ecosystem that sustains it.
When local suppliers suffer, the operational readiness and public trust in the military suffer alongside them. General Zyeele must recognize that true military stewardship requires looking inward. The temptation to pivot toward high profile policy consultations, public facing state security theater, and political alignment must be resisted.
The soldiers in the barracks and the civilian partners who keep the military functioning do not need a politician in uniform; they need a manager, a commander and an advocate. It is time for the Army Commander to spend less time navigating the political corridors of power and more time auditing the administrative failures under his watch.
Prioritize the clearance of supplier debts, restore the economic lifelines of local businesses, and bring the focus back to the barracks. A disciplined, professional army is built on solid logistics and fair administration, not political visibility.
Issued by:
Peter Sinkamba
President
Green Party &
Tonse Alliance Presidential Campaign Chairman, Copperbelt Province