Cheap seats for SOE heads

The Zambian government has ordered all chief executive officers of loss-making state-owned enterprises to stop travelling business class on certain flights as part of austerity measures.

In a recent circular, secretary to the Cabinet Dr Rowland Msiska said these CEOs were only allowed to travel business class if the flights were more than six hours to the destination country, the Zambian Observer reported yesterday.

“Reduce expenditure for both local and foreign travel and workshops to cut the cost of running government,” the circular read, adding that all the subordinates of CEOs would travel economy class.

“The maximum size of the delegation accompanying the chief executive officer shall not be more than five officers,” Msiska added in the circular which was addressed to the board chairperson of the Industrial Development Commission and copied to the office of the vice president, deputy secretaries to the Cabinet, secretary to the Treasury, the State House principal private secretary, the auditor-general and all permanent secretaries. – ANA