Over 100,000 Civil Servants to Move From Various Ministries To Councils Under The Decentralisation Process.

 By Masauso Mkwayaya.

Since the post-independence era, Zambia’s activities particularly those regarding resource management, planning and decision-making, have been concentrated within provincial capitals and the national capital city, Lusaka.

This means that management of resources at District, Provincial and National levels is in the hands of a few officials.

This way of managing national affairs is termed as centralization; centralization refers to the concentration of a government's power – both geographically and politically – into a centralized government.

A centralized country like Zambia deprives citizens at the grass roots of an opportunity to give input in the planning of their localities.

For many years now, the Zambian citizenry has had very minimal and in most instances, NO participation in the managing of resources in their communities.

Governance experts have attributed this state of affairs to the centralized governance   system which Zambia currently practices.

In an attempt to change the status-quo, the then MMD Government led by the late President Fredrick Chiluba  introduced measures that tried to phase away the centralized governance system.

In 1993, the MMD government introduced the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP).

The programme included among other two major reforms, the Decentralization and Strengthening of Local Government (DSLG) element.

The core essence of the element was to expedite the de-concentration of central governments functions to provinces and local authorities. This was in an effort to enhance participatory governance.

Governments plan at that time was to de-concentrate functions such as Agriculture Extension, Primary Education and Primary Health Care functions from central government to the district levels .

But despite those ambitious, interventions, the then MMD government failed to provide a workable decentralization framework which would benefit ordinary citizens.

Commentators say the government then, failed to give an opportunity to citizens to participate in the governance   of the country because they concentrated on de-concentrating government functions.

Commentators note that de-concentration is the weakest form of decentralization because it only redistributes decision making authority and financial management responsibilities among different levels of the central government.

 In principal it merely shifts responsibilities from central government officials in the capital city to those working in provinces or districts.

During the same period, the government further weakened the local authorities (councils) by removing some of their functions such as the issuing of drivers licenses.

Some of those functions are said to have been, generating a lot of money for the local authorities.

Former Lusaka Mayor Daniel Chisenga said the decision by government to remove some functions from local authorities drastically reduced the revenue base for the councils.

Mr. Chisenga said government worsened the situation by selling council houses.  He said the houses were important assets that local authorities depended on .

On the other hand it is argued that the Fredrick Chiluba’s Government succeeded to decentralize certain government responsibilities through another form of decentralisation known as, privatization!

Some stakeholders argue that the late Presidents Chiluba’s decision to allow private enterprises to perform functions that had previously been monopolized by the then government; was a successful form of decentralisation in its own right.

However in 2004 the late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa’s administration launched the decentralization policy.

The policy is said to have been shelved because it lacked political will.

Nonetheless, a few years later, on July 16, 2013, the late President Micheal Sata launched the revised edition of the decentralization policy.

A copy of the revised National Decentralistion Policy.Photo by :Masauso Mkwayaya

Launching the Policy at the Lusaka City Council Nakatindi grounds, President SATA hoped the policy would be an opportunity for the people to have total control of their resources.

The revised decentralization policy which President Sata launched is now providing guidance to the current administration on how they should carry out the decentralization process.

The Policy has been tipped for success because it is following a more practical form or decentralisation called devolution.

This is because devolution transfers responsibilities for services to municipalities that elect their own mayors and councils.

In a devolved system, the Public Corporations (councils) raise their own revenues, and have independent authority to make investment decisions.

To that effect the current government led by President Edagr Lungu has a Management Development Division which falls under cabinet office.

One of the Division’s core functions is to spear- head the decentralization process.

The Permanent Secretary in the Division Ndasha Yumba says the local authorities have already been restructured to pave way for about 14 structures which will be devolved from central government.

Mr Yumba said some of the functions which will be devolved from different ministries are ; Primary Health Care, Public Health ,Primary Education ,Agriculture Extension Services among others.

And immediate past Lusaka City Mayor George Nyendwa, confirmed that the personnel at the local authority had undergone capacity building to prepare for the new structures that will be devolved to the council.

The Former Mayor also said the local authority has already started working with some officials from other government ministries.

He said the Lusaka City Council has already started working with the District Health Office on issues of Public Health.

The Former Mayor added that the council will FULLY devolve once logistics are completed by the central government.

The task to prepare ministerial devolution plans is under the care of the Decentralization Secretariat.  

And Director of the Decentralization Secretariat Alfred Sakwiya revealed that 14 government Ministries have already completed doing their devolution plans    .

He says the plans are just awaiting approval from cabinet office.

Mr. Ndashe Yumba, the Permanent at the Management Development Division   confirmed that by April 2016 ,cabinet office had already started approving the devolution plans.

The approval of the plans is expected to add impetus to the devolution process.

The Decentralization Secretariat said once the devolution process is in full gear, about hundred thousand(100,000) civil servants will be moved from various ministries   to different local authorities across the country.

The Secretariat says some of the civil servants who will be moved are those from ministries that offer Primary Education, Primary Health Care, Agriculture Extension and Community Development Services.

And the Local Government Service Commission   , the institution which is mandated to look at the Human Resource Requirements in local authorities said they have already started receiving concerns from Local Government Workers.

The Commission says a lot of Council workers are worried that other people from Government Ministries will take up their jobs.

The Commission has however clarified that no one will lose their jobs as a result of decentralisation.

Commission Secretary Lazarous Mulenda said no council employee will lose their job because the human resource who will be moved to the local authorities will be doing the same things that they were doing in Ministries were they will come from.

Mr. Mulenda said councils will be administering functions that were previously managed by the central government .   

Meanwhile the former Lusaka Mayor has cautioned that the increased responsibility that will be bestowed upon the councils will require adequate funding if councils are to operate effectively.

And the Management Development Division at cabinet office has revealed that local authorities will be adequately funded.

Division Permanent Secretary Ndashe Yumba said Government has already put in place a Local Government Equalization Fund which is aimed at deliberately funding local authorities, especially those in rural areas.

The revised decentralisation policy states that councils will be headed by Mayors, or Council Chairpersons who will be elected by adult suffrage in the council area.

The electing of mayors has been concretised by the amended constitution which was assented to by President Edgar Lungu on January 5 2016.

Previously Mayors and Council Chairperson were drawn from Councillors. Councillors used to elect Mayors and Council Chairpersons from among themselves .

The electing of Mayors and Council Chairpersons is expected to make the mayoral office more answerable and sensitive to people’s needs.

The mayoral  position has further being strengthened because all basic services at District level will be under the eye of the mayor.

This means that the human and monetary resources of offices such the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS), District Community Development Services, District Agriculture Extension Services will be managed by the council.

The electing of mayors will furthermore enable people to hold their leaders accountable.

Once decentralisation in Zambia takes full effect, Political stability will be secured because people will actively participate in development activities.

Accountability will also be enhanced because local representatives will be more accessible to the local populace.

However authorities must create or maintain “enabling conditions" that will allow local authorities to take on more responsibilities.

And If Zambia is to fully decentralize; Political Interference in local authorities should be avoided at all cost.