ECZ WORKING TO COVER PF RIGGING SCHEMES
ECZ, ECZ, ECZ never seizes to amaze.Today they held a press briefing to announce the extension of voter registration. When we say incompetence in the organization is alarming. You PF sympathisers accuse us of politicking.
What is shocking is they did not even know why they should extend the registration period. Or maybe they just pretended not to know. They have no numbers and they can’t even know for how long they should extend. They just know when they should start. Oh no! This is the caliber of managers we have in this country.
However, my heart bleeds when I think of the under paid election official, the poor police men and women who have to leave their stations and camp in far flung areas. For what? For a K5500.00 roughly, the rate is close to K180 per night. Oh! our poor policemen and women. When you hire professional staff, at the back of your mind must be aware of their obtaining conditions of service.
A police officer or any other public service workers leaving their stations for any duty and spend a night out, are entitled to a DSA. DSA is roughly K750.00 for the most Junior officer from which they can shelter themselves much better and have a descent meal. These men and women can’t negotiate their own conditions of service.
Ironically, even the most vicious Kakoma Kanganja does not care the slavery his officers, the same officers helping to keep him the job are going through. Oh! Poor police officers.ECZ, in just paying, they have shown that they do not care about anybody. If they can abuse policemen/women, who then can they respect? Maybe prisoners they follow to register.
We have also been reliably informed by our sources how NRCs and voters cards are being dished out to prisoners including those who are not Zambian. We really don’t know what the PF government and ECZ want to achieve if not trouble.
Talking about prisoners, oh I am shocked with what Shindano was trying to mumble at his press briefing. He tried to hide idiocy in a great accent. I did not believe, what he was saying.Mr Shindano, goes on to tell the nation that prisoners are registering and picking poling districts they would vote from in case they are released. Uh! Maybe he read through my article which stated that eventually a big chunk will be out of their prisons by election time.But, what was even more hair raising, was to hear him say the prisons are not turned into poling Districts! Ha! He goes on even to say prisoners will register under poling districts near their penitentiaries. Wow! I knew and now can confirm ECZ is not interested in prisoners but, just numbers for pf.
Coming back to the election officers. It was argued that ECZ wanted local officers. Uh! ECZ, how could they want local officers? Did they recruit and train police officers to be at their registration centers? Can local police stations raise officers to cover the registration centers and still have enough police officers to remain protecting communities? So deal with it, they out sourced for reinforcements.’
The ECZ is abusing these officers, more especially men and women with no representation. ECZ on determining conditions of service behaved like all the polling Districts are at civic centres. Most of these are 400 and 500 kilometers away from where these officers are stationed. It means they are moved and camped 500 kilometres away from home. What does the law say about this. In fact you can check what the very ECZ officials, the Emily Sikazwes, Shindano and company are paid when merely visiting this stations. They get their correct conditions of service, full DSA and risk allowance far above government rates. We say no to decriminalization.
To add salt to injury, the poor planning is hurting these field staff. Shindano really has no heart for these officers. Over thirty days in the bush ask them to about turn within a day because Shindano was adamant to plan properly. Remember some of them were outsourced to reinforce their colleagues who had insufficient workforce.
Oh! Our poor men and women in uniform.
Injustice somewhere, is injustice everywhere. So, Shindano can have hefty allowances a police officer and all those field staff must suffer.
Bad people flourish if the good people choose to be Quiet.
Sikaile Sikaile
Good Governance and Human Rights Activist