Young people who support the Tonse Alliance have expressed frustration over the appointment of retirees in senior government positions.
The concerns follow a reshuffle in the civil service where some Principal Secretaries have been fired and replaced with persons who have been recalled from retirement.
According to reports, the government has appointed Mr Chilabade (retired) as PS for Human Resource Management and Development while Mr Sandram Maweru has also been recalled from retirement to become Principal Secretary for Irrigation.
The appointments have led to concerns that the Tonse Alliance admnistration, led by President Lazarus Chakwera, has forgotten its promise to empower the youth and create jobs.
“The government of retirees. When shall the young generation get their chances. Most of these appointments are going to retired people,” wrote one person in a Facebook comment.
Another Facebook user wrote: “My question is why are they taking back retired people? The likes of Maweru, he got his retirement sometime back as a PS for Ministry of irrigation. Is this one million jobs they were promising to the youth?”
Meanwhile, the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives –CDEDI has urged the Chakwera administration to prioritize young people in appointments as one way of fulfilling its promise of creating jobs for the youth.
“The appointment of retired people to serve in various government positions instead of considering and promoting already existent and well qualified youthful officers will only help to keep youths out of positions of power where critical decisions for the future of the youths are made.
“We should let the elderly and retired officers to invest their pension money and create jobs in private sector,” the organisation said in a statement.
