Minister Kutsaira locks out civil servants late from work

Natural Resources minister Binton Kutsaira on Monday morning locked out civil servants from his ministry who were reportedly late from work.

Kutsaira locked out the unsuspecting civil servants at 7:30 am, saying he wanted to instill discipline to ensure efficiency in the ministry.

“I do not condone late coming because this affects government business negatively,” said Kutsaira, who is also the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regional governor for the centre.

The minister then allowed the late civil servants in at 9am after addressing them, warning them that next time, he will not let them in and a disciplinary action would follow.

However, the minister’s action generated debate as to whether or not he was not usurping the jobs of the principal secretary or directors of the ministry or the job of the chief secretary to government.

Some civil servants were overheard saying the minister himself should stop using the ministry offices for DPP meetings, saying there is a red line between government and party work.