GOVERNMENT will next year embark on an ambitious programme to introduce public employment exchange services which will be created in all 10 the provinces to place job seekers with prospective employers.
Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda said the programme would also provide career counseling and guidance services and collection of labour statistics on labour demand and supply.
Mr Shamenda was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday evening when he presented a ministerial policy statement for his ministry whose 2013 national Budget allocation of K36.8 billion was approved.
“Furthermore, the ministry will implement the 2012 to 2015 decent work programme. This will be linked to the national strategy on industralisation and job creation adopted by Government to ensure the promotion of decent work,” he said.
He told the House that the ministry had finalised data collection for the 2012 labour force survey and expected preliminary survey results by March 2013.
He said the programme was significant as it had strong labour market information systems that would be able to access how many jobs the Government would be creating on an annual basis sector by sector.
He said the practice of casualising labour was rife due to factors such as the prevailing high unemployment and under-employment levels that made job seekers susceptible to abuse by some employers.
Mr Shamenda however said, once the law relating to engagement of casual labour was reviewed, it would greatly contribute to arresting the vice.
“In order to strengthen law enforcement capacity, the ministry has also procured eight motor vehicles which will be used for labour inspections,” he said.
He was glad the court had settled the issue of minimum wage to the satisfactory of the Government and the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) which had since accepted the ruling.
On the 2013 ministerial budget, he said they would focus on improving capacity in rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure and building new offices where they never existed and setting up a public relations unit that would improve communication with stakeholders and the public.
Earlier, the Parliamentarians approved the 2013 Budget allocation to the Ministry of Justice of K295.1 billion in which Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba assured Zambians that Government would ensure the country would have a people driven Constitution without any interference.
And Deputy Chairperson of parliamentary committees Chifumu Banda directed Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Emmanuel Chenda to issue a ministerial statement by today on Government’s position over payments of farmers by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
This was in his ruling to a point of order raised by MMD Mpongwe MP Gabriel Namulambe who wanted to know whether it was in order for Mr Chenda to keep quiet when FRA had not paid several farmers in some parts of the country.
But PF only employs(appoints) cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, boyfriends & girl friends etc. Hope the platform will be fair to all relative or non relative
Sele tubombeko iwe!
Sorry guys, we had employment exchange before and now we have Zamportal from Labour which has never functioned to my expectation. Now you say another exchange, maybe just leave to the private entities. Just hasten transparency in the private recruitment agencies and as GRZ concentrate on other projects.
Where will the Universities be in this exercise because they are supposed to tailor make their courses to respond to labour demands. Kwena ubufilika nabo sure?
It’s now like we adore job-seeking more than entrepreneurship. The education system teaches students to depend on being employed than actually creating jobs for others.
#4 Fiko Mata, while it is good to encourage entrepreneurship it also important to have working people. If everyone becomes an entrepreneur, who will be the worker for the entrepreneur. There are people out there who don’t understand business and don’t want to understand it, all they want is a job. So the government wants to cater for them too.
I still haven’t heard about why Zambia National Profident fund is it still keeping benefits for workers who were contributing to this institution while it has already ceased to operate?Come on people the question why hold on to workers contributions when Npf doesn’t exist? why not pay it to workers now.People want to invest there monies now not to wait for age attainment thats absurd.A lot of former workers leave in abject poverty after leaving employment some are 40/45 yrs when institution like NPF and Napsa are holding on to there money.When are former workers going to start investing there money?should they wait until 50yrs? and 55yrs? We need a change to this. why go to a bank and borrow at high intrest when you have monies sitting at Napsa or Npf?
Marubish yeka yeka, k36bn 0nly and 8 motor vehicles only for the entire country when the sitting president is crying for a house and his unrecognized wife wansts mor than k1.5bn for playing around? Stop jokin imwe banthu and start thinking seriously. what is our solution to unemployment and poor conditions of service for both your employees and government employees? You ideas and mind are as dirty as your chin ba Shamenda.
Nice post! it is useful for me. please keep sharing your post…..
thanks