No transfers for recently recruited staff- Northwestern PS
Northwestern Province Permanent Secretary, Colonel Grandson Katambi (Rtd), says his office will not allow unjustifiable transfers of the newly recruited staff from the area, particularly those in the health and education sectors.
Col. Katambi, said his office is investigating reports of teachers having been transferred from some districts in the province barely a year after their recruitment in the public service.
The Permanent Secretary was reacting to a briefing by Ikeleng'i Town Council Chairperson, Joe Chizuza that about 100 teachers who were deployed to the district among them, those employed last year have left the area on transfers.
‘’Nobody will move from this province and if there is such a problem, I am encouraging you to tell those who are applying to advise their spouses to join them because we are not seeing anybody coming from Lusaka to join their spouses in Ikeleng'i but the opposite," col. Katambi said.
He said his office has not sanctioned any transfers for newly recruited staff from any district in the province adding that those desiring to leave their stations should choose between maintaining their job or quitting as he will not allow anybody to leave their station until after four years of service.
Col Katambi noted that officers must not misunderstand and abuse the Presidential pronouncement of reuniting couples which does not affect the newly recruited staff and encouraged district heads of departments not to entertain transfers requests from newly employed staff.
He wondered why the only transfer requests being received are for staff intending to leave rural areas while no spouses seem to be applying to join their partners in rural districts.
Mr Chizuza told the Permanent Secretary that some teachers are coming with transfer permissions from superiors from provincial and national offices making it difficult for officers at district level to stop such transfers.
"Sadly, some of the teachers who were employed last year have received transfer letters to leave the district, some of them will come with transfers from provincial education offices, others from the ministry of education headquarters," he said.
Mr Chizuza said this has further created a situation where the district is allocated few slots in subsequent recruitments as most officers transferred are still sitting on Ikeleng'i district payroll.