WHAT SHOULD A RELATIVE TO A PRESIDENT OR MINISTER DO IN THIS COUNTRY?

Authored By Mupishi Jones

It’s like applying and getting a job in government is now out-of-bounds for all those related to either the President, the Vice President or the Cabinet Minister.
Worse still registering a business company and applying for a government contract has also become an abomination, what do you want these relatives of the President,Vice President or Cabinet Ministers to do in this country? These are adult bonafide citizens of this country with the same rights like any other citizen.

Whether it’s the wife, husband,son, nephew, uncle or friend this should not be part of the criteria for disqualifying someone from either getting a job or contract in government.

These are not Presidents,Vice President or Cabinet Ministers but private citizens responsible for their conducts or misconducts.If a wife to the Minister,a brother to the Minister or a son to the President is confronted by the law, the law will not treat her or him as a relative to the President or Minister but as an independent adult citizen old enough to bare the consequences of his or her conduct.Those former PF Ministers who are being investigated on corruption charges,why are their wives or husbands not being investigated by virtue of being relatives? Each adult citizen accounts for his or her own conduct or misconduct.Let us draw a line between the President, the Vice President or Cabinet Minister on one hand and their relatives on the other hand.These two are not intertwined and the closest they can become is the declaration of interests!

These are citizens who cannot even go round riding Presidential or Ministerial vehicles because the law doesn’t recognize them as such!These are citizens with separate families to feed from their relatives in government.

If a brother to Hon.Kabuswe gets a government contract,why should this adult man be addressed as, “a brother to the Mines Minister, Hon.Paul Kabuswe’s gets a government contract” instead of addressing his brother by his name as Mutale?
Just like getting a job in government has predetermined procedures, even getting a government contract has procurement procedures to be followed.It is ignorance of the highest level to even entertain the idea that one can grab a government contract from a responsive bidder and award it to a non responsive bidder, just how possible is this? Which Principle Officer can even sign such a contract? There is an Act that governs procurement or bidding process including contract awards.Whoever,falls short of these prerequisites drops off the list of other competitors.Let’s desist from “Mwamba-lising” citizens by pigeonholing them into small clusters of relatived to this one or to that one.Let us debate on their qualifications, competencies, skills and experience.Let the rules of engagement be applied fairly to everyone.Let us compete for these government jobs or contract on the basis of qualifications, experience, competencies and skills rather than spending so much time on who is one related to in government.
There are rules and regulations governing contract management such as declaration of interests which any contractor and employer knows.

Let’s be careful in trying to criminalize such matters because we risk excluding or discouraging important talent,skill and competency by narrowing our scope.
I submit

Mupishi Jones
Western Zambia
+260977480386