‘Patriotism test’ for govt workers slated (30-11-06)

asked the Public Service Commission that anyone working for or wanting to join the civil service should be tested on their level of loyalty to the ruling Zanu (PF) party. Prospective entrants who fail the test will not be employed. Those who are already employed could be dismissed.
In varied responses to the Reserve Bank’s demand for details from government departments on the causes for the crippling inefficiency in parastatals, the retired soldiers blamed the disorganization in government companies on the lack of patriotism within the civil service.
This latest move adds to criticism already levelled at the Zimbabwean government, which has recently been in the news for denying food aid to starving opposition supporters. A quarter of the country’s population is currently in need of urgent help. According to Mariyawanda Nzuwa, Secretary of the Public Service Commission, there are too many people working in the civil service who are not committed to the ruling party and government. This, said Nzuwa, cannot continue – hence the new stringent tests beginning next year.
Nicholas Goche, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, is already said to have submitted proposals to the government to introduce measures to assess the suitability of those wanting to join the civil service. The same measures for joining are also likely to apply for promotion purposes.
Details of how the assessment will be conducted have not yet been given. But for the estimated 160,000 civil servants, including teachers and nurses, it may be prudent to buy a ruling party card and start practising the party slogans to remain employed. Recalling names of senior Zanu (PF) officials may be an added advantage. The new measures have not gone down well with the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), or some civil servants.
Two government workers told The Zimbabwean the new measures would fail as they would simply fake support for the ruling party. According to Paurina Mpariwa, the MDC’s secretary for Labour and Social Security, civil servants must be loyal to the nation and not to a political party. The government has also introduced a national service for youths stipulating that all students admitted into government tertiary colleges should first undergo a six-month training exercise which critics say is little less than military training.