ACB thwart ESCOM strike
Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday morning ordered the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) Workers Union President from making any contract, negotiations and organising the employees into demanding a Christmas gift from management or the board.
The notice signed by ACB director, Alex Nampota, was delivered by official from the bureau to ESCOM workers union.
The order says failure by the Workers Union President to observe the note from ACB is punishable by a fine of MK200 000.00 or 14 years imprisonment.
President of the Workers Union, Oscar Chimwezo, said he was “surprised” by the involvement of the graft busting body in labour disputes.
ESCOM sacked about 50 employees last seek the workers started the industrial action.
In a notice published in the media, Escom requested the striking members of staff to resume work as the negotiating teams continue with discussions to resolve the issues amicably.
“The Board and Management believe that by working together to resolve the issues amicably, the corporation stands to benefit a lot through, among others improved performance,” reads part of the notice.
Escom also warned the striking staff against tampering with or damaging its equipment and plant, saying they are public infrastructure.
Escom striking workers also demand the board chairperson , ruling DPP politician, Davis Katsonga (pictured) to resign.
Last month Escom board fired the Chief Executive officer and replaced him with Director of Transmission Arthur Mandambwe in acting capacity.
Tagged with: ACB, Davis Katsonga, Escom, Nampota
Timadya! gud points, indeed they ask for abribes.
Well done ACB, for years us Malawians have had to contend with poor service of electricity or other areas were electricity never even got installed.
Maybe it was management which did not order the equipment for the workers to install a reliable service to customers, but that needs to be looked at by government, they should be an enquiry to find out the problems facing ESCOM and make recommendations to resolve them. Then government needs to appoint management which have esperience implementing these systems with relevant qualifications. Government may in the interim (not more than a year) employ a foreigner just to get the structures in place and mentor someone else to takeover the position as head after the year ends, but other management structures in each district must be trained up and all these things need to be done in the year (interim the expatriate worker is at ESCOM).
So the ESCOM workers union wants higher wages for what incompetence? Higher wages and bonuses are only given to those who have performed and many customers have received a poor service, constant blackouts every evening, the equipment is old, it was never replaced even after Malawi became an independent republic state, after colonisation of the British.
How ACB comes in leaves alot of unanswered questions. Should we say that some staff have reported corruption to ACB? Things are now complicated because the coming in of ACB threatens other members who were supposed to contribute constructively to end the strike. Lets wait and see.
It has always been the norm that if you want your electricity fixed you need to pay the bribe. No honesty at the grass roots, the management intergrity also needs to be questioned, because in other countries organisations have a customer service line which is taped and monitored by management, if a customer calls up to say the electricity has been turned off and not repaired and now the engineer is asking for a bribe, the ACB would not have to do the job of management by investigating graft cases, the whole management style of ESCOM is incompetent.
Lets face facts gentlemen.
1. A gift is a gift you dont have to beg for it.
2.Unless you are a child,insane or something you can strike against your parents for a gift at the expense of his own survival.Imagine.
3.A gift is given at the discretion of a giver not otherwise.
Simply put it a child fails his JCE exams goes to parents and forces them to buy him a gift for what? ESCOM has failed us thats a fact. Let them perform first then a reward is guaranteed thats what Katsonga is talking about.As for ACB this issue is inhouse.Nampota is out of bounce. An advise to all who are out of order, i mean all who are against Mulhako Murupharhi. They are out of context coz the fact you will not succeed from critisizing the HE on issues that doesnt involve him. You should understand how government machinery works. The ACB is an independent institution please.
ANamalamba are you sure ESCOM employees did not perform? Do you really know what you are talking about? What you have said is an insult to the ESCOM employees who have tirelessly in any kind of weather worked so hard and only to have some top people mismanage the hard earned money. Research before you comment. Anyone after toiling so hard needs a thank you. Even God has promised a reward after we do well in our lives on earth. But if you are in the group where thank you does not exist then yes so you can say and God Bless you so that one day you may know the truth.
T.A. Msakambewa – I like your comment – short and amplified yet so sensible.
Its so hard to believe that this article is true, not that it has been badly presented but the reported action from the ACB is just way too absurd. Escom might be underperforming yes but clearly these strikes are labour issues, nothing to do with fraud at all. This is so very embarrassing for the ACB – are the lines not very clear here? Is it that hard to tell that they are bucking on the wrong tree?
This is taking the nation for fools – did it not cross anybody’s mind or at least concerns over how the public would react towards this decision? – or they thought Malawians are stupid and not clear with the boundaries of a proper ACB.
ACB – we obviously need you to be of a wider function but defiantly within your limits – no time for rehearsals.
T.A. Msakambewa you are right – soon it will be teachers making arrests and who knows, carpenters might also soon start working as dentist.
Again is this really happening? – Am commenting on that assumption.
Boy! talk about comedy.
ACB atcheya abwera why are you interfering in lanour issues Kujaila chani. ESCOM staff waluta continue asakupuitsitseni Nampota, watumidwa ndi ndani. This ACB is polital block asamaname.
Much as he might look stupid, Nampota is a highly intelligent and competent lawyer and he knows the section in the Anti-corruption Act which gives him powers to intervene in such matters. From a layman’s point I believe threatening or going on strike beacause you are demanding a bonus where you have made losses is soliciting a bribe.
Ndiye plz osamangoti mfwii!! mfwiii the country has gone to the dogs when mmutu mwanu mulibe chilichonse chokhudzana ndi law.
So go Nampota amange onse kuyambira Tcheya, Padambo, Zembani, Yunus Mussa, and all stupid ESCOM employees.
I want to enjoy a peaceful christams without hearing about ESCOM.
Badada Munthali muli na nkhaza chomene. I feel sorry for you. All you dream of is to see other people suffer? Pity
ACB arrest Munthali as well he knows alot about ESCOM and he will help you reveal more.
People like Mr Quatasystem, are the ones who thinks the North can be a country, they have nothing to contribute, they love to be the the oppositte always, even kutchalitchi, even if one is fired and yuo want to seek justice, can go to Nampota naaa, but quoata u will answer yess, let labour issues remain,
Let us look at the issue critically. Zembani was fired for insisting to give some more xmas gift to employees. Zembani is an engineer with an MBA and therefore a qualified manager.
Zembani knew that his subordinates (employees) know ESCOM had made political pay-outs which have nothing to do with its operations including mulhakho and he wanted to appease or motivate his employees. The black-outs are attributed to political interference and abuse by politicians.
The government is just panicking because of the fuel crisis and they know that the sit-in might aggravate the energy crisis in the country that’s why they are using ACB because they have no justifiable instrument to stop the sit-in. If they say ESCOM has no money the workers will say where did ESCOM get the money to pay mulhakho and bankrolling politicians like Ntaba and Dausi in their compaigns. Malawians think beyond your noses.
Nkhwatakwata you are talking. ACB is being used as a silencer to avoid a lot of things to be revealed like the millions gifts to ZW but stopping giving a gift MWK20,000 to ESCOM employees. How ironic! Malawians read beyond the lines and dont think with your stomach. There is big story here.
Carry on Nampota.Legal issues can not be interpretted by every jim and jack. You know where these ESCOM employees are becoming corrupt – hence your intervention. Let me tell fellow Malawians that: The verb ‘Corrupt’ means to make rotten: make evil,spoilt by mistakes, altered for the worse (of words) You can therefore see where Nampota comes in. Atengetse amenewa ndi mbava zofuna kukolola pomwe sadalime!
If the case of the blackouts is caused by government campaigning that a public enquiry by independent group needs to start to find out what has been happening at ESCOM, so what independent institutes does Malawi have ACB yomweyo, so I think it’s right for ACB to take on this task.
cowards always fear to meet the heat. i have been following this ESCOM issue kuyambira pachiyambi. zoona nkhani zonse za escom m’malo moti akambirane mumva akungoyankhana muma news paper kuopana chani?
amene sakudziwa za ESCOM akhale pansi timuuze ife, if someone says palibe chimene ma employees a escom apanga ndiotembereredwa ameneyo, people have been suffering day and night, mwina kutheka ena kupatsidwa ma targets nkukwanitsa komanso kuposa target yawo nanga ndalamazo zimapita kuti? who mismanaged the money? ngati mbusa sakuchita bwino sikuti akhristu akapse pamene iwowo akutumikira muchoonadi. please be frank enough.
eeeeeeee kaya tiona
Escom doesnt have money to give its employees. Where did they get cash to buy expensive cars worthy ten/fifteen million kwacha for each manager barely few month ago, thereafter distributing memos that they’ve stopped giving car and hse loans? Nampota shud investigate such isues not xmas gift. Someone is bhind ACB bos telling him to stop Escom workers frm conti strick.
ESCOM ALOT OF CORRUPTION AS YOU CANT HAVE MAGETSI CONNECTED WITHOUT GIVING THEM SOMETHING SORRY.HOW CAN THE COMPANY GIVE XMAS GIFTS WHEN IT IS NOT MAKING MONEY,BANKRUPT COMPANY, PLEASE DONT DO THAT UNLESS THE COMPANY STARTS PERFORMING.
I second that.