By JULIUS PHIRI –

. President Lungu

WORKERS at Government Printers are unimpressed at insinuations they could be used to rig the 2021 elections were the department given the job to print ballot papers.
Chairperson of the Workers Committee at the Government Printer, a branch of the  Zambia Union of Government Printers and Allied Workers, Emmanuel Nyendwa, said yesterday the unit was already handling sensitive Government work and should be trusted to do a professional with the printing of ballots, as has been decided by President Edgar Lungu.
In a Press statement, Mr Nyendwa said staff at the department were saddened by critics of the decision who, by insinuation, were suggesting that staff would be vulnerable to compromise and could be made to do underhand work in favour of the ruling party, the Patriotic Front.
“These sentiments are unfair in the sense that they label Government printing employees as corrupt and unprofessional. What we all need to do as Zambians is to put aside selfish political interests and look at the greater good of the country,” he said.
He commended President Lungu for the decision to have the 2021 ballots printed locally and instructing the Ministry of Finance to provide necessary funding to the department to ensure it was fully equipped to do the job.
He said this demonstrated the confidence the President and his team had in the competency of the Government Printing Department and its staff.
“As workers at the Government printing department we want to assure the President and, through him, the entire nation we are in support of the decision and that we shall do our best to ensure a professional job is done,” he said.
Mr Nyendwa said it was important for the nation to understand that the Government Printer had, among its staff, some of the best trained and most experienced printers in the industry.
“The department has in the past printed – and is still printing – a lot of documentation of a security nature and has no problems undertaking such assignments,” Mr Nyendwa said.
He said employees at the department were excited at the challenge and the opportunities for further investment in new equipment that would come with having the contract for the job.
Mr Nyendwa said the department was ready to use the opportunity to prove to the Zambian people that there was no need to print ballot papers outside the country anymore.
The enhanced reputation of the department arising from executing such a massive and sensitive job could serve to draw similar contracts from neighbouring countries as well as other printing jobs from local and international firms.