Health ministry redeploys 123 officers in headquarters cleanup

The Ministry of Health has begun an institutional cleanup and operational restructuring exercise at its headquarters in Lusaka, with 123 officers set to be redeployed to their substantive stations.

The exercise follows an internal assessment which found that the officers had been operating at headquarters under temporary administrative arrangements outside the approved establishment.

In a statement, Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi said the 123 positions, although contributing to central operations, fell outside the ministry’s officially approved 2021 establishment, which limits headquarters staffing to 403 positions.

He said the ministry was immediately redirecting the affected officers to their substantive stations, where their official pay points and original postings were located.

“The Ministry is immediately redirecting all 123 affected officers back to their substantive primary stations, where their official pay points and original postings are,” Chilengi said.

He said the move was intended to strengthen healthcare delivery at frontline health facilities and decentralised administrative centres.

Chilengi said the ministry would also conduct a comprehensive assessment of the qualifications and competencies of all personnel occupying positions within the approved 403-member headquarters establishment.

“Every position in the approved structure will be evaluated against established professional benchmarks and job descriptions,” he said.

He added that personnel found not to have the required academic, professional or technical qualifications for their current headquarters roles would be reassigned to operational stations matching their verified credentials.

The minister said the exercise would establish an operational baseline as the ministry continued to strengthen governance, improve administrative efficiency and deliver quality public healthcare across the country.

“The cleanup exercise is part of broader reforms being undertaken by the Ministry to enforce strict structural compliance and improve service delivery in the health sector,” he said.

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