HH URGED TO APPOINT SECRETARY TO CABINET

GOVERNMENT should expedite the appointment of a substantive Secretary to Cabinet to enhance effectiveness of the civil service which has remained without the head for more than a year, Stephen Kampyongo has said.

Mr Kampyongo, the Patriotic Front Shiwang’andu Member of Parliament said the position of Secretary to Cabinet had remained without a substantive office bearer for a long time and that was affecting the effectiveness and performance of the civil service.

Debating estimates of expenditure for Cabinet Office under the Office of the President, Mr Kampyongo who is Opposition Chief Whip said Cabinet Office should be viewed as the engine of government from which all functions and mandates were discharged.

He said the requirement in the constitution on appointment of the Secretary to Cabinet was basically to ensure that the person assuming the office was competent and with necessary experience in understanding the functions and procedures of government.

He said the Secretary to Cabinet should also be a person who should ensure that all portfolio functions assigned to different government institutions were supervised effectively.

He said the delay to appoint the substantive Secretary to Cabinet could not be ignored by Parliament because it had a bearing on other functionalities of government.

“We are requesting the leader of government business in Parliament to ensure that this important issue is addressed. If we had taken a holistic approach, to the issue, marching resources would have been put in place in the decentralised institution of government at all levels and all these challenges could have been avoided,” Mr Kampyongo said.

Mr Kampyongo also said there was need for Government to look after the former presidents and their families and those families left behind by deceased former presidents.

He said there was also need to take care of former vice presidents especially that now the position of running mate has been constitutionalised.

Meanwhile, Mr Kampyongo said the challenges the country is encountering in the implementation of the Constituency Development Fund is as a result of taking a piecemeal approach to the decentralisation policy.