Kawana is a loose cannon, should be tamed
IT IS not surprising that Minister of Information and Media Cornelius Mweetwa has distanced government from his permanent secretary Thabo Kawana’s remarks on the health of former President Edgar Lungu. Since he was appointed to the ministry, Kawana has caused more harm than good to this New Dawn administration, first as director-spokesperson (if such a job exists) and then as permanent secretary. He has proved to be a reckless chatterbox, loose cannon and a liability not only to this government but also to the country at large.
The country expected President Hakainde Hichilema to discipline Kawana after a leaked audio recording of him coercing former Petauke Central member of Parliament Emmanuel Jay Banda to exonerate State House officials from his kidnapping case surfaced. But nothing was done to hold him accountable as anticipated. Instead, Zambians were given the standard spectacle of a press conference that denied any wrongdoing. The question that lingers in the minds of every Zambian is, is Hichilema complicit to this impunity of his appointees? Does Kawana have immunity from getting disciplined by Hichilema?
The latest incident in which Mweetwa has disassociated the government from conversations on Lungu’s health is embarrassing not only to those in positions of power but also the general citizenry and the international community. Kawana should hang his head in shame.
Discussing someone’s health, especially a high-profile person like a former head of state is a highly sensitive issue, which borders on national security. Kawana should have exercised prudence before taking that route.
Before holding the press briefing, Kawana should have sought professional advice from his Ministry of Health counterparts such as Dr George Sinyangwe, the permanent secretary responsible for donor coordination who is a highly skilled medical practitioner with years of experience.
But in a sense, we don’t blame Kawana for his ignorance over such matters. We blame those who have given him a free rein to comment on issues that he is not even well-versed in. Kawana should have invited Dr Sinyangwe and his colleagues from the Ministry of Health to accompany him and advise him on how to protect confidentiality and individual privacy when delivering his message if the matter he wished to discuss at that hastily arranged press briefing was so urgent that it could not wait.
Kawana should be aware that the medical fraternity, which includes doctors, clinical officers, nurses, paramedics and support staff like registry clerks, has clear guidelines for “Maintaining Patient Confidentiality”, which are best practices for the healthcare sector.
An excerpt from the Health Professions Council of Zambia (HPCZ) guidelines on patient confidentiality reads: “Maintaining patient confidentiality is an ethical professional duty. Even without applying ethical standards, courts generally allow a course of action for a breach of confidentiality against a treating physician who divulges confidential medical information without proper authorisation from the patient.”
Clearly, Kawana is not aware of these ethical standards and it is important for him to take some time and educate himself on such issues to avoid similar pitfalls in the future.
We agree with Citizens First (CF) president Harry Kalaba that Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa should censure Kawana for his omissions.
“A civil servant cannot be issuing statements like the one he issues. But what do you expect in a government that is not orderly? What do you expect in a government that allows juniors to undermine their seniors? Because clearly Kawana is undermining his senior who is the Minister of Information and also Chief Government Spokesperson.
“Kawana needs to go for training. He needs to understand the civil service regulations. Let him look at other PSs in other ministries. You hardly know about them. What is so special about being PS of information?” Kalaba said.
Hichilema’s inaction about Kawana’s endless improper behaviour shows that he was complicit in all of this wrongdoing. Zambians will not hold their breath to see if this New Dawn government will apologise to Lungu or if Kawana will face the consequences. We are well aware that this will come to nothing but the usual rhetoric and conversations without any real action.
