MUTATI FIRED
… kafwaya takes over as Minister of Works and Supply
The move is necessary, so I will leave it to speculators to speculate as to why I have made this decision. It is my discretion to appoint and disappoint, Cabinet is my team and I am the trainer and coach. I have the authority to choose who to replace and at what time — President Lungu
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has revoked the appointment of Felix Mutati as Minister of Works and Supply and withdrawn his nomination as Member of Parliament. The President has replaced Mr Mutati with Lunte Member of Parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya. He said that there was no need for speculation on the revocation of Mr Mutati’s appointment because he had the discretion to fire and hire. Mr Lungu was speaking after he had sworn in Mr Kafwaya as the new Works and Supply Minister at State House yesterday. "The move is necessary, so I will leave it to speculators to speculate as to why I have made this decision. It is my discretion to appoint and disappoint, Cabinet is my team and I am the trainer and couch. I have the authority to choose who to replace and at what time," President Lungu said. He encouraged Mr Kafwaya to work hard and prove himself. "I congratulate you as new Minister for Works and Supply, I encourage you to work hard. Time will tell and unfortunately time waits for no one, so you have to prove yourself," he said. And speaking to journalists shortly after being sworn in, Mr Kafwaya said his focus would be to ensure that ballot papers were printed locally as he takes up his new mandate. He said he would focus on continuous assessment of already existing government infrastructure. He said he was grateful to President Lungu on the appointment and promised not to disappoint him. "This is a chance that I take very seriously, it involves supporting not only the Zambian people but also the President, so I will do my best," Mr Kafwaya said. The President would in due course nominate another person to Parliament as MP to replace Mr Mutati.