Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Chanda Kasolo was fired this morning by President Edgar Lungu for what the president termed as giving contrary focus to a statement by State House on the proposed reduction of salaries of high income earners in the public service.
President Lungu through his Spokesperson, Isaac Chipampe directed that top bracket earners in the public service should suffer a reduction in their salaries to cushion the impact of the vulnerable during this economic crisis.
But Kasolo said the directive was voluntary as contractual and legal obligations would restrict the directive.
Mr. Kasolo who confirmed his dismissal in an interview Monday morning said he received a letter from the head of state last night.
“Hello everyone, I have had my contract terminated following my radio and tv showing last night regarding the Directive to cut salaries.” “I really enjoyed working with you. God bless and please give your support to the incoming PS. Love you all,” Mr. Kasolo.
He has since thanked President Edgar Lungu for allowing him serve under his reign.
Kasolo see what you were defending has done to you? Go and get a job in the private sector and feel the pain of what we are going through. Do these people even understand contract law? You don’t just wake up and start giving directives for worker’s salaried to be slashed without due deligence of what their contracts entails. Yaba kuwawafye.
And he goes straight to UPND…these guys can not survive outside Politics and thieving…HH will welcome him and slowly UPND will become PF lite…and the trend of thieving continues….Never trust a Politician…
Please give PS job to Sunday Chanda or Antonio Mwanza.. please please…. Those 2 don’t even understand what Ba Edgar meant by ” 20% cut off salary”. They never seen a pay-slip.
Sunday has suffered, giving his soul to PF to fight HH, but never ever rewarded.
Similar to Ambassador Footes’ case, if only Lungu can act swiftly on corruption the way he has in firing PS Kasolo, then Zambia’s problems wouldn’t have been the same as they are now.
Look at Kasolo now he is jobless all that bootlicking and telling off Ambassadors. You are sacked for telling the dumb President that he can’t cut salaries ….look at crooks like Chitotela even attending courts promoted and rewarded with another ministerial post
I would have fired him too if I were his boss. You dont publicly differ with your boss
@Nostradamus the post is for that journalist who now tills the land
I guess now Mr. Kasolo ended up with a 100% reduction. No good to cite labor laws when the big man can fire at will.
Even so, still not sure how this “cushions the impact of the vulnerable during this economic crisis.” You can’t eat symbolism!
We said it and we have been vindicated. We all heard and read what the president said and you as Kasolo wanted to twist facts either for him or for your own milage – enjoy!!!!
We also said that we are waiting to hear someone else in PF saying the opposite and you fail in the trap!!!
What a disaster!!!
Bemba or easterner to be appointed we can bet
Love morekanyamastic – You heard what the President said in Southern Province “I gave Highvie Hamududu a position in Govt – he rejected it fearing for the safety of his family”. Nobody challenged the President – so shut up with your nonsen.se.
Someone from the ‘corriders of power’ should still clarify as to whether Kasolo was right or wrong in his assessement of ECL’s hoodwinking move. The firing aside (which some may see as a ‘sanction for insubordination’, while factually it’s more to do with embarrassment and the ever growing rule by fear) let’s have the modalities of what ECL’s directive entails. Please also explain how far (if at all) the move will go in alleviating the consequences of the fuel and electricity hikes.
Harold Muna – Whether Kasolo was right or wrong, the firing was in order: rule of thumb – do not contradict your Boss in public. Period. If you are not aware of this, you are not yet ripe to be a manager.
Pante pante government. One wakes up says one thing and another contradicts. A government in panic mode. Lungu is quick to act where majority of zambian wont gain from his action. We all know he will replace kasolo with another useless bootlicker. The whole government is useless, excessive and bloated. We in upnd will ensure to reduce the size of cabinet and government by streamlining similar ministries and setting targets for each minister. Let us run government like a business and hold people accountable. Vote upnd..we thank you.
So what happens to the illegality, are we gonna end up like the saga of the illegal stay in office of Jean Kapata and Co in 2016? And who will pay this time, President Lubgu or the tax payer again? I mean the same tax payer that he wants to”save”.
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Without any prejudice, Chanda Kasolo was right. You just don’t wake up and cut somebody’s salary because it’s equivalent to contract variation and can be challenged. If Edgar thinks he has made a popular decision then we are in maningi trouble. These aren’t the kind of decisions we’re looking for
Kasolo was right Labour and Human Rights Laws for example does not allowed what “ECL’s Law” was forcing individuals to do.
I quote: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work”.
God bless Zambia.
And while can Mr President please explain what his 20% donation amounts to and how it will work. He is not highly paid is he? I mean 20% of K100,000 is K20,000 donation to 1 million poor Zambins. No wonder he has fired Kasolo, he was hoping to raise about more although it still will not be anything for the recipients.
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Now this is being heartless, you donate 20% of your salary but you are a rich man, compared to others whose only income is their meagre civil service salary, like my husband.
PEOPLE GOT LOANS TO RUN FOR FIVE YEARS BASED ON WHAT THEY WERE EARNING. THEN BOOM, SUDDENLY THEIR EARNINGS ARE CUT DOWN BECAUSE SOMEONE MISMANAGED THE ECONOMY. I THINK IT IS UNFAIR. THESE SAME HIGH EARNERS SUPPORT POOR PEOPLE WHO WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES AS A RIPPLE EFFECT.
THERE WILL BE LOW MOTIVATION TOWARDS WORK NOW. I CAN SEE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT.
Kasolo had it coming, he has always been acting smart, remember how be admonished the German ambassador, he was behaving like he’s the defacto chief government spokesperson
Bemba or easterner to be appointed we can bet
It’s within his power to appoint anyone: President Lungu may choose to elevate a civil servant, or find a suitable from within or outside the PF party. The previous defense minister came from upnd, and what did you do to him? You made sure he never retained his parliamentary seat.
YES BECAUSE 70% OF ZAMBIAS POPULATION IS COMPOSED OF THOSE TWO TRIBES. SO THE CHANCES ARE HIGH.
Kasolo was right. Lets take a scenarion where some of the high ranking officials say no to a cut in their pay. Will they be fired for ‘disobeying’ ECL’s directive?
Lungu is a genius (of course NOT) he’s failed to grow the economy so he slashes salaries.Tis like an incompetent builder who decides he’s far better at demolitions.
One of the Chief bootlickers is gone.Problem with Kasolo is that he used to act as if he’s the chief government spokesperson.So then this tells us that government is going ahead to slash salaries for senior officers in government
All this is not what we want….bwesheni ubunga. What has reducing of your salary got to do with me? Me as a common man , all what I want to hear is ubungu bwabwela , fuel price gone down ,amalaiti yachipa …that’s all !!
Chansa Kandolo is just unlucky
Chanda grew big headed like one Sunday except Sunday lost his hair as he ascended to more silliness! ECL should have started with the Sunday irritant before playing kasolo! Well deserved boot Kasolo!
Lungu is very incompetent.
For sure he has miserably failed to grow the economy…..
We ask the PF rats , how do you expect individuals to stop complaining and grow their bussiness when the whole GRZ lead by lungu is failing ?????
It’s good to see a bootlicker making a mistake and getting fired for it. It sends clear messages to other bootlickers of what fate awaits them after they are through bootlicking.
Lungu has failed to get his ministers to pay back salaries as ruled by the courts and is now forcing every one to help pay back those illegal salaries
We have said , only exceptionally good rains and farming out puts will save lungu……not this clutching at straws in the dark
Get Leonard Kantumoya. You won’t regret.
What is going on in Zambia is so shameful do we really have a government in Zambia everything is like a play government lying that there are importing electricity from South Africa president just wake up and cut salaries for people now firing people who try to help him that what he did was wrong it’s a trial and error type of government.
PF should go 2021 we don’t want to be like Zimbabwe.
Tell your ministers to pay back the illegal salaries they got when parliament was closed before cutting the civil servants salaries PF you are stupid.
Very stupid you don’t think.
President Lungu has already forgotten what Sata did when he became President. As a reminder, Sata abolished non-practicing allowances for lawyers in the Ministry of Justice without their consent. The lawyers went to court and won. All those whose salaries will be affected should go to court because the law is on their side government will loose a lot of money. By the way the president can not just say he has slashed his salary, there should an SI gazetted for this to be effective and in any case he does not feel any impact slashing his own salary because he does not use his money to buy food, drinks, fuel, clothes you name it everything is free for the president and he has numerous allowances.
Once again , remember that is better to lose a mere position than lose the power to govern. Thank you for your services but remember that your party is still in power..you will still eat with us on the high table while those with jealousy gnash their teeth in anger. Kz
Please fellow Zambians lets learn to read the minds of these politicians, wat they awez do is to play on our minds all the time so that they gain political mileage. Look the President has instilled fear in all his ministers, Permanent Secretaries and all his Subordinates so that they all should be worshiping him and wen he just makes any mistakes in terms of his policy directives since they realized that he is been making so many mistakes of such, then everyone will be fighting to do damage control in order to make him(president) happy. PS Kasolo,s intention was to do damage control since he new that wat the president said was not backed by law but in the end the President felt hurt like the PS was undermining his orders thats why he was fired mwebantu muleishiba utuntu.
Ba KZ there is no one in the World who is Powerful than God, u may have all your plans, money, eating well and mocking people who are suffering all the time but God will awez come through for them, u will not even know how how your party PF will be out of power by the time u realize bwana u are gone baba never play with God, In history their has been people leaders who were considered great coz of being brutal the Hitlers, Idi Amin, Savimbi, Osama Bin Laden, just to name a few but wat did they earn or gain out of being inhuman and where are they now? Baba its good to earn a good name and respect others brutality will never take u anywhere period. In life whatever bad things u do to others will awez come to haunt u bwana.
The last of the large Michael Sata’s people. I’m surprised he lasted so long. Eastern province, an opportunity for one of your people …….watch the space.
We thank god that he has lasted this much. Simon Miti has again made it. Miti spoke to Chanda and told him to go to the znbc now he says he didn’t. God will deal with him.
God Bless him and walk him to his next big blessing.
All things happen for good.
Hey PS kasolo welcome to the group of the dismissed.I doubt if you will camp at justice ministry because yours is likely express retirement package.What has hit you has happened many people from one region.Its called retirement in national or public interest