Sinkamba queries reliance on foreign printers, charges Hichilema to explain real reasons for sacking his officials

There is need to build capacity of government printers to prevent a situation of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) printing ballot papers outside the country.

Green Party president, Peter Sinkamba, said this in an interview with Zambia Monitor in Lusaka on Tuesday.

Sinkamba said it was embarrassing to note that the country after 60 years was still soliciting for outside bidders to print ballot papers.

He recalled that in the past, government started building capacity in the government-owned printing company and reached 80 percent completion. However, he claimed that this seemed to have been reversed in the coming years.

“The move by the Commission to cancel the tender for printing ballot papers should be an eye opener to government that the country should start printing its own ballot papers,” he stated.

Sinkamba said Zambia from 1964 until 1991 used to print its own ballot papers but that this was done away with by the then ruling party, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD).

He was reacting to the announcement made by ECZ to cancel tender for the printing of ballot papers.

The Commission on September 22, 2023 issued a tender for the printing and delivery of ballot papers, posters, blind voter templates and announcement forms.

On the dismissal of Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Green Mbozi, and his Justice counterpart, together with other senior officers at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Sinkamba noted that this was the President’s prerogative.

He, however, advised President Hakainde Hichilema to make public the reasons for firing his officers.

“The situation of the President not disclosing the reasons of dismissing someone leaves people to speculate and puts them in bad taste with the society,” Sinkamba said.

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