I will take tough decisions – EL

By CHUSA SICHONE –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has said he is not afraid to make tough decisions as long as they are in the interest of the nation.
The Head of State said some people usually fear to make difficult decisions when elections were near, but that he had ample time in which to convince the citizenry on any stance he took on national matters.
“I have just been telling the farmers outside that I am not afraid of making difficult decisions. What makes people fear difficult decision-making is usually elections being too close, but I will make decisions in the interest of the Zambian people because I have five years in which to convince them that I was right in that decision which I made.
“Some of these decisions we are making now will begin bearing fruit in two, three years’ time, some four years, some five years, but we will be able to explain to them our success story,” he said.

LUNGU

President Lungu said this at State House when he swore in Martine Mtonga as Cabinet Office Centre for Excellence e-Governance and Information, Communication Technologies (ICTs) national coordinator in Lusaka yesterday.
President Lungu reiterated that he was not going to be restrained or constrained by political or any other considerations in choosing the best people to serve the nation.
Mr Lungu urged civil servants to work hard as they would one day have the chance to be elevated, and also assured non-civil servants that doors open to them as well as he was looking at ways of revamping the civil service.
President Lungu urged Dr Mtonga to quickly settle down, saying by the time the PF Government  completed its five-year mandate, it should be able point to the ICT Centre and e-Governance as one of the success stories.
“Welcome to the civil service, Dr Mtonga. You are taking up a position which is very critical in our governance system as we have chosen to go the electronic way. Right now, ICT is the in-thing, but in Zambia we seem to be lagging behind, particularly in the civil service.
“So the job which you are taking up requires that you do your best to expedite the implementation of e-Governance in Cabinet Office and in the whole spectrum of Government,” he said. Speaking to journalists shortly after being sworn in, Dr Mtonga pledged to engage all relevant stakeholders in Government to see how best to bridge the gap and use ICTs to ensure effectiveness among State officials and efficiency in Government services.