Africa-Press – Zambia. The Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) in Shiwang`andu district has commended the government for implementing the debt swap initiative for civil servants.
ZNUT chairperson in Shiwang’andu district, Stephen Kangwa, told ZANIS that the debt swap initiative will greatly help liberate teachers and other civil servants who borrowed from various financial lending institutions.
Mr. Kangwa observed that the teachers and other civil servants were overburdened with servicing concurrent loans. He said the debt swap initiative will therefore be a relief to the highly indebted workers and motivate them as they carry out their duties.
He said the teachers are the majority of the workers who were affected by loans adding that some of them were having zero net pay due to over-borrowing.
“Most teachers who were affected by loans were demoralized and this resulted in poor delivery of services and poor learner performance,” he said.
Mr. Kangwa has since assured the government that the teaching fraternity will retain integrity as their loan burdens have been lessened following the debt swap initiative. He said the move by the government to carry out a debt swap is timely amid the economic downturn. Mr. Kangwa further commended the government for its relentless effort towards improving civil service.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kangwa has cautioned teachers and other civil servants not to borrow money from unregistered money lenders. And some civil servants have appreciated the government for implementing the debt swap initiative.
