. Kampyongo

By HOPE BWALYA –
THE Government has refuted allegations that it has connived with local authorities to rig this August general elections.
Local Government and Housing Minister Stephen Kampyongo said the Patriotic Front (PF) Government had no intentions of rigging this year’s elections but that it would win based on what it had delivered and what it was yet to deliver to the Zambians.
The minister was referring to an article that appeared in one of the editions of The Post newspaper recently.
The article referred to Mr Kampyongo and his Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga as the two people behind a rigging scheme involving local authorities.
“The rigging story is just a figment of The Post’s imagination. The PF Government is winning these elections not because of rigging but purely because we have worked and delivered to the people of Zambia,” the minister said.
Mr Kampyongo said the ministry had not retired any of its civil servants in national interest as purported by the media.
He also urged civil servants to be loyal to the Government of the day and to adhere to professional standards in their execution of duties.
Mr Kampyongo was speaking during a briefing in Lusaka yesterday.
“I am emphasising today that any civil servant who wants to use a Government office and facilities to champion the cause of the opposition at the expense of rendering loyal services to the Government and the people will be dealt with accordingly because all civil and public servants are supposed to be supportive and loyal to the Government in power,” Mr Kampyongo said.
Mr Kampyongo said all civil servants who had political aspirations should step down or desist from those desires as it was hampering their abilities to deliver their services.