Who are Service Chiefs?
By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
The Head of State, other than being President of the Republic also runs the Office of, and he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The armed forces is defined as the Zambian Defence Force which is the military of Zambia.
It consists of the Zambia Army, the Zambia Air Force, and the Zambia National Service and these wings are provided for and defined by the Constitution and the Defence Act Chapter 106 of the Laws of Zambia.
The Defence Act provides for the creation and maintenance in Zambia of a Defence Force consisting of an Army, comprising the Regular Force of the Army, the Territorial Force of the Army, the Army Reserve and the Territorial Army Reserve, and an Air Force comprising the Regular Force of the Air Force, the Auxiliary Air Force, the Air Force Reserve and the Auxiliary Air Force Reserve.
The President carries his duties of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief through his Service Chiefs.
Part XV and Articles 190-194 of the Constitution has defined Defence forces and national security institutions.
National Security institutions include the Zambia Police, the Zambia Security Intelligence Services, and the Zambia Correctional Service and other security services as may be prescribed.
So the Service Chiefs in principal are as those defined by both the Constitution and Defence Act; Commanders of the Zambia Army, Zambia Airforce and the commandant of the Zambia National Service and report directly to the President of the Republic but may have administrative reporting structure to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
It is for this reason that you will see the Service Chiefs be with the President at national, military and symbolic events as the Commander-in-Chief, the President carries his duties through them and his symbolic power is seen through such formation.
At functions, you would see the Service Chiefs leave immediately after the President..
Overtime, however we have witnessed Commissioners and Directors ( of the Zambia Police Inspector General of Police, Zambia Correctional Service Commissioner General , DEC Director, ACC Executive Director) carry themselves as Defence Service Chiefs.
This is partly to the decision to grant powers to the President to appoint such officers who then mistakenly assume they ought to report to their appointing authority despite the laid out administrative and bureaucratic reporting structure.
These strictly have their reporting structure to their respective Permanent Secretaries, although the President may invite them for direct consultations.
This picture below captured at the airport perfectly illustrates the confusion that has since risen.
On the line to see off the President to Whindoek, the Commissioner General of the Zambia Correctional Service has placed himself, erroneously, as the most senior officer followed by the deputies of the Zambia Army, Zambia Airforce, Zambia Police and others.
The Service Chiefs were in Namibia to witness the hand-over where President Hakainde Hichilema was being inaugurated as the new Chairperson of the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
So their deputies were in Lusaka and saw off the President.
The seniority is categorised by the primary role of the army, personel strength and military assets of their units ( Zambia Army, Zambia Airforce and Zambia National Service in that order).
Clearly the strength of the Zambia Correctional Service is on the number of prisoners they hold!
Strictly speaking, the people required on that line should be only the Zambia Army, the Zambia Airforce and the Zambia National Service.
So it is interesting to see such an officer carry himself as a Service Chief and place oneself senior than the deputy Service Chiefs.
Overtime, its now Kaofela. I guess the head of the Cadet should be there alongside head of Financial Intelligence Service!
Usually institutional memory knowledge is lost overtime with the politicisation of these institutions and subsequent purge that occur after elections.