UPND PLOTS TO DEREGISTER NAQEZ
By Mast Reporters
The ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) has threatened to ensure the deregistration of the National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ).
Registered with the Registrar of Socities, NAQEZ is a Non-Government Organisation that was formally established in July 2015 to, among other objectives, promote the welfare of teachers and learners in the country.
Earlier this month, the NGO accused the government of having neglected teachers and called on teachers’ unions to consider embarking on a nationwide strike over the government’s failure to promote over 40, 000 teachers who have upgraded their qualifications into appropriate salary brackets.
In a press statement issued on 12 Apri 2015, NAQEZ executive director Aaron Chansa said the affected teachers “have been stretched to their breaking point. They have been used, ignored and denied justice for far too long. Their sacrifices are the backbone of Zambia’s development. They deserve more than empty promises”, he stated.
Dr Chansa called upon all teachers’ unions “to begin mobilising their members in accordance with Sections 76, 77 and 78 of the Industrial and Labour Relations Act”, adding that“ the time for patience has expired”.
“The National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) is left with no option but to propose a nationwide industrial strike in response to the government’s continued failure to fulfill its solemn promise of upgrading all deserving teachers to higher salary scales. In the last three years, the Republican President, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education have made repeated public assurances that over 40,000 teachers would be moved into appropriate salary brackets”, Dr Chansa said.
“Yet today, those promises remain unfulfilled – leaving teachers disheartened, disrespected and demoralised. This betrayal has far-reaching consequences. It is not only a slap in the face of our dedicated educators but a serious threat to the quality of education in Zambia. When teachers are denied their due, learners suffer and the entire nation is pushed backward”, the NAQEZ director added.
In response to the press release, the UPND have now called for NAQEZ to be deregistered. UPND media director Mark Simuuwe, who in opposition praised the work of NAQEZ now says the organisation is a PF project that should be dealt with politically.
In a Facebook post, the ruling party official accused NAQEZ of being a political entity that has departed from its original mandate.
“A PF project NAQEZ proposing nationwide strikes ; what started as a ‘pseudo’, advocacy group for, “quality education”, as some of us long knew it , has been issuing political statements , which , exactly, are showing the very purpose it was established for, -mostly lopsided, hollow and baseless attacks. It is important that this entity is recognized as a political entity and be legally treated as such from the point of its registration”, Simuuwe wrote.
Efforts to get a comment from NAQEZ proved futile by press time.
