15/04/2026
Database Recruitment Is Frustrating and Risks Damaging the Strong Relationship President HH Has Built with the Youths
One would wonder why the president is allowing this to happen in an election year. Database recruitment is deeply frustrating and risks staining the good relationship that President Hakainde Hichilema has enjoyed with the youths, majority of whom are unemployed.
I talked to two young ladies yesterday, who had been volunteering but were left out of the recruitment. They said they broke down in tears upon seeing that some individuals who completed their studies later and were likely not even in the database, had their names appearing on the recruitment list.
Even more disturbing were reports that some individuals connected to government officials were demanding as much as K30,000, payable in installments of an initial K15,000 before being placed on the payroll, and the remainder after securing employment.
One of the young women said that if elections were held today, her frustration and anger would push her to vote against President HH, despite him all these years being her favorite president.
She is not alone. Many young people share similar sentiments due to how this recruitment process has been handled.
While President HH may be personally innocent, the buck stops at him. It would go a long way if the President addressed these concerns and offered words of encouragement and hope to the many crushed young people.
It is becoming increasingly evident that some officials within government are on a mission to make President Hakainde Hichilema’s re-election more difficult.
Your Excellency, President Hakainde Hichilema, over the past four years you have performed exceptionally well in creating opportunities for young people.
You restored the hope that the previous government had taken away and built the belief that every qualified Zambian stood an equal chance of being deployed.
Recruitments conducted under your leadership were widely seen as transparent, from the famous recruitment of over 30,000 teachers to the more than 11,000 health workers, and others that followed.
You earned the trust of the youths and the many unemployed Zambians with your deliberate emphasis on fairness, that anyone who qualifies, and is Zambian, stands a chance.
However, this single database recruitment exercise has done more damage to that hard-earned reputation.
If it is the police recruitment, even worse. We are waiting to hear what justification the Minister of home affairs and international security, will give in parliament for conducting such a flawed process.
In the previous recruitments, it was easier for those left out to accept the outcome and move on. But this database system has broken many hearts and people are hurting.
The greatest concern is that if this system continues, the poor and those without connections may never be deployed.
The Database system itself may not be entirely bad but the way it is being administered. It appears increasingly designed to benefit only those with relatives and friends in influential positions.
Worse still, it is creating a fertile breeding ground for corruption, as some officials in charge of the process are reportedly selling positions without shame.
All we are asking for is Transparency in the manner these recruitments are done.
