By Sukuoluhle Ndlovu
The MDC Alliance is calling on the ban of the partisan ideological orientation program at the Zanu PF school ideology for council staff.
This was said in a press release released on the yesterday 12th of April 2021 by the MDC Alliance Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development Sesel Zvidzai.
MDC Alliance is of the view that the planned training is designed to brainwash and entrench the dysfunctional state of local authorities. And for this reason, there is the call for ban for the ideology school.
“We call for an immediate end to the planned training and ideological orientation program. The Constitution must be in full including through the respect of council staff’s duty to be impartial and profession as well as the urgent implementation of devolution so that local authorities can be properly equipped to carry out proper service delivery for the benefit of the people. This ideal lies at the center of our People’s Agenda and our Local Government Reform Agenda,” noted the press release.
Civil servants and senior employees of councils must not be partisan according to the constitution. “The Constitution of Zimbabwe clearly prohibits civil servants and senior employees of councils from being partisan. It is evident that taking these functionaries through a political party school of ideology intends to cause these civil servants to pursue a partisan Zanu PF agenda in circumstances where the law and basic principles of corporate governance require them to be impartial, professional and focused on service delivery – not the pursuit of toxic politics in the execution of their duties”.
Council employees such as chief executive offices, town clerks and town secretaries are being forced to enroll in the partisan ideological training program.
If council staff goes through the process, they will be controlled by Zanu – PF and this has exerted undue influence in matters of staff recruitment, procurement, budgeting and service delivery.
