Political rally jobs are bribes – corruption watchdog
By Thandizo Banda
CORRUPTION watchdog Community Action Against Corruption (CAAC) has added its voice to accusation that President Hakainde Hichilema is using volunteer health workers at political rallies to buy votes ahead of next month’s elections.
In an exclusive interview with The Mast, CAAC chief executive officer Brightone Tembo said during campaign rallies Hichilema had been making pronouncements of hiring volunteer health workers present with the most recent case being in Chisamba on Tuesday.
The public offer of employment in the civil service have since sparked condemnation from electoral stakeholders and professional health bodies who are accusing Hichilema of politicising public service delivery.
Tembo said recruiting civil servants at partisan gatherings compromised the integrity of the electoral process and put other political players and job applicants at a disadvantage.
“As a country we are now undermining laws and institutions mandated to recruit public sector workers. In essence it is an abuse of state power by the Executive,” he said.
Public recruitment should be transparent, merit-based and conducted by professional bodies without political interference.
“Anything short of that turns essential services into campaign tools,” Tembo said.
“What the President is deliberately doing is a serious inducement to political corruption and it should not be allowed to continue. When jobs are dangled at [public] rallies, it erodes public trust in both health institutions and the election itself,” Tembo said.
He challenged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to state its position on the matter and enforce rules that guaranteed a level playing field for all contestants.
Tembo urged the Ministry of Health, the Public Service Commission and other relevant bodies to intervene and advise the President to stop the practice before it damages confidence in the health system.
“Zambians deserve to access health services and public jobs without having to pledge political loyalty. Institutions must rise to the occasion now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tembo is concerned about the alleged failure by police and ECZ to act on political violence that recently occurred in Mazabuka in Southern Province.
He said while the watchdog commended police and ECZ for acting swiftly on the violence that occurred in Kaputa, not much action has followed the incident in Southern Province.
“We are worried that selective action sends the wrong message ahead of the elections. The law must be applied consistently, regardless of where the violence occurs,” Tembo said.
CAAC has appealed to police and ECZ to be more vigilant and to apply the law fairly and firmly as polls draw nearer.
Tembo said political violence often thrives when political party cadres of certain political parties feel they cannot be punished.
“But where law enforcers act fairly and firmly, political violence fails to survive,” he said.
The watchdog called on ECZ to publicly state its position and ensure that perpetrators of electoral offences are brought to book in order to guarantee a peaceful and credible election.
