LAST UPDATE: The Civil Service Commission has hailed the health workers’ recruitment committee in Mpika district for strictly following guidelines of ensuring that the process is decentralised. Civil Service Commissioner, Louis Siyandyabantu, praised the committee in an interview with the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) shortly after monitoring the recruitment process in Mpika today. The Commission is in Muchinga Province to monitor and evaluate the health workers recruitment process in six districts of the province. So far, the commission has visited Mpika and Lavushimanda districts. Mr. Siyandyabantu said it was the government’s desire to ensure that local people are considered in the recruitment process. “In the past, we had people from urban areas taking up positions in rural areas and once they are on payroll, they leave their station and go back to urban areas while drawing a salary,” he observed. And Mpika District Health Director, Rodrigue Kamunga, said more than 1,800 applications were received for various positions in the district. Dr. Kamunga said out of the more than 1,800 applications, a total of 183 applicants have been shortlisted. “We received a total number of 1,800 plus applicants out of which 183 applicants were shortlisted,” he said. He added that most of the applications that were received were from nurses but none for the position of midwives. Meanwhile, Lavushimanda District Health Director, Webster Kambinga, said the district received a total number of 169 applications, out of which only 43 were shortlisted. Dr. Kambinga said only 43 candidates were shortlisted because there were some positions which were not applied for. He added that the sub-committee managed to decentralise the recruitment process by ensuring that the local people were given priority in the selection process. “I am happy that we were given power to recruit these health workers as the successful candidates will be able to contribute to the development of the district,” said Dr. Kambinga. Government through the Ministry of Health across the country is currently in the process of recruiting 11,200 health workers.
