POLICE TO EMPLOY UPND CADRES
…Secretariat has submitted secret list for recruitment – MP
By Mast Reporter
GOVERNMENT is allegedly in the process of secretly employing United Party for National Development (UPND) cadres in the Zambia Police Service before the August elections, a member of Parliament (MP) has revealed.
Kantanshi MP Anthony Mumba threw the entire front bench into panic on Thursday when he dropped the bombshell forcing Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimbu to issue a rebuttal.
Mumba sent ministers and UPND MPs sitting on the edges of their seats when he said he had a letter from UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda’s office requesting names to be submitted for employment in the police service.
“The letter clearly states that the Ministry of Home Affairs is recruiting about 4,000 police officers who would help the country in the upcoming elections,” he told the House as some MPs expressed shock.
During a question and answer session, Mumba accused the UPND of playing double standards by accusing the former ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party of employing junkies in the Zambia Police Service when it was in the opposition.
He said there was a record that UPND accused the PF of employing junkies who were aligned with the party.
Mumba said it would be unfortunate for the new administration to inherit another bunch of junkies once there was a change of government.
He said he did not understand why there had been so much secrecy surrounding the employment of police officers under the UPND administration.
In response, Mwiimbu rebutted the allegation saying the ministry would inform the public of the time for the recruitment.
He said there was no recruitment taking place currently because the ministry required the treasury authority to undertake such an exercise.
“During a meeting with the Inspector General of Police Graphael Musamba, he asked the ministry to employ officers ahead of the general elections,” Mwiimbu said.
He said the ministry had not yet responded to the request by Musamba.
Mwiimbu said the recruitment process would be transparent and no one would be left behind, attracting murmurs of disagreement from the back bench.
“I want to urge Zambians that we are going to advertise so that every eligible Zambian can try their luck. And if they qualify, they will be considered,” he said.
