Sexual scandals, nepotism rock Kayerekera Uranium Mine
Kayerekera Uranium Mining Company, a subsidiary of Paladin Africa has been rocked with sexual scandals, Nyasa Times reveals.
According to reports emanating from the mining site in Karonga, one junior employee working in the Employee Relations (ER) office stands accused of recruiting female members in the Processing Plant, Administration and also Environment Sections after first having sexual romps with them.
ER officer Phillip Kayuni is reported to have been involved in similar scandals at Dwangwa Sugar Company where he worked previously.
It is reported that recently the wife of the ER officer was involved in a fight with a new female recruit after the wife got wind of the “unholy affair”.
The same ER officer also stands accused of cashing in on numerous lodges that new recruits are accommodated before they find their own houses. He is also said to have received numerous bribes including cattle from different people after he promised them job offers.
Malawian workers at the uranium mine, the second biggest of its kind in Africa by Paladin Africa, are also worried at the rate which foreigners are filling up jobs that competent Malawians would have easily picked up.
A source working for the mining company revealed that the company employed a human resource officer, from South Africa, who has no background in the field, although the country has a lot of qualified graduates in human resource management. The worker further alleged that the human resource officer has proved to be “a failure”.
Another employee who opted for anonymity also claimed that people from other countries receive favours from management as compared to their Malawian counterparts. The official claimed that all foreign workers at the company receive better perks than their Malawian counterparts despite the latter doing much work and being more qualified.
“There are two South African Camp Supervisors who earn over a K1 million. These are not graduates like their fellow Malawians who get low salaries. Some foreign workers in other departments also received bonuses last year despite many of us Malawians not getting the same. This we confirmed with management”, the employee informed.
Reports are also rife that when South Africans mess up things at the mine they are not fired as opposed to Malawian workers.
“There was an incident recently where one foreign recruit in the Processing Plant messed up in his production shift by getting a high moisture content uranium product (of up to 10 per cent). This was covered up, yet if it was a Malawian, he/she would have been in deep trouble and even may be fired. A total of 22 drums of yellow cake uranium produce worth around K500,000 were wasted,” revealed the worker.
Other reports indicate that the company is failing to recruit numerous local Instrumentation Technicians despite several of them existing in the country. It is said that the company instead recruited one unqualified instrumentation technician from South Africa.
“There are a lot of Instrumentation technicians in Malawi yet of late, they have brought in an inexperienced, 64-year-old, South African as an Instrumentation technician. This post was never advertised in Malawi. This has been the common trend at Kayelekera.
“They do not advertise in Malawi but would just recruit from South Africa. Of late, there has been a plan to train more South Africans in jobs for mining, we understand, yet there are Malawians who are supposed to be trained who have already got some training and knowledge,” revealed one Malawi employee at the mine.
Other reports indicate that eight LCD Television (TV) sets were stolen at the mine when a South African national was in custody of keys to the container that stored them. Workers at the site say that nothing has been done to the employee unlike when some employees were fired for money laundering like Jakes Neimand.
There are also allegations that one Zimbabwean, Robert Kagwa, working in the Engineering department is mistreating employees without raising the eyebrows of senior management. The worker is said to be shielded by one of the managers at the uranium mine whom he worked with in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean is also alleged to have a reputation of calling female Malawians working in the project ‘prostitutes’.
Most workers that were interviewed at Kayerekera Uranium Mine recommended that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Ministry of labour should probe the allegations levelled against South African employees.
The workers also felt that all employees should have a chance of being interviewed by an independent body so that they can fully exhaust problems rocking them.
JDM,Hoping you are so silly on among the same group of kayuni whom do this system, may you have offer one of your sister .just come on the ground and have what you think is professional if you can get employed but you will just see woman in site every day. hoping Kayuni is not alone but alot of stupit guy like youn are behind this issue if he is alone we will see where the story will go ..we can say alot may be it achain at their department.Zoona amuna enanu ngathi zimachitika munatani ?koma ngathi ndi boza nde mwamulakwila mudzanu—– koma hope mumagawana akaziwo KAYUNI ANGAKWANISE ONSEWO+++++++
I feel sorry for Malawians, they have a tendency of bickering.
Kayuni anakakhala kuti si Northener bwa? panakazaza ndikutukwana apa.
look at that but if it were gay thing the comment would go on and on and yet some many heterosexual are doing the same thing
The spirit of just complaining will not take our country too far.On the other hand, we have a custom of glorifying foreigners in the way of employing them in Malawian based companies even when they dont have adequate papers for the position.When this has happened, such guys mistreat our people like hell.This never happens in their countries.For example, why do Indians in the country mistreat malawians? Why do whits of South African and worse still of Zimbabwean descent mistreat Malawians and treat zimbabwean blacks like gods?This must stop by deporting such guys when such behaviour is discovered and I wish our Ministry of labor was strong by inspecting such institutions and working closely with Immigration to deport people of such disdainful behaviour.
Divide and rule;
Kayelekera tsopano…chigololo chokhakha basi ACB ife maso ali kwa inu
JMD should not cheat people that he is Malawian. He is another Zimbabwean. I heard a similar comment to a Zimbabwean.Foolish JMD. IDIOT TIMES 10.
Muhlako wa Nyasatimes. I feel sorry for you, your comments indicate you have no professional qualifications to allow you to work anywhere in the world. What a shame. For your information I work and live in a western country and not Zimbabwe. Widen your horizon, Zimbabwe is not the only Country where Malawians can work , try USA, United Kingdom, France etc and not Zimbabwe.
Even you own President worked for many years in other countries – a show of the power of education, humanity, professionalism and global orientation. Think global, think big, think professional. These days anyone should be able to work anywhere in the world, Malawi, New York, London, Paris etc without fear of being isolated or discrimination. Wakeup, we live in 2010.
yes everyone has freedom to work anywhere in the world..but this does not stop governments from enacting laws which put the life of their citizenry first priority. having stayed and lived in western europe(UK) for some time, i(we) know they have what they refer to as ‘rare skills jobs’..these are the jobs which they dont have enough expertise in their country…and those foreigners with these skills are given a chance….but remember foreigners in not their first priority.
i can also give another example of what SHELL oil company did in one area in Nigeria in 2008. they selected about 10 locals from one oil village where they were operating and sent these to UK for masters degree in petroleum engineering…upon graduating all the guys were picked by Shell and went back to Nigeria to work at the shell company in their own country but with expatriate benefits.
the case of kayerekera leaves alot to be desired. my worry is that the expertise they are seeking outside malawi can be solicited back home in malawi. or paladin can make deliberate efforts to train malawians in areas they are deficit in skills…which i doubt of course..malawians have proved to be hard working and intelligent where ever they go..
so something must be done…we need to develop our skills so that in the near future we could be boasting of having a pool of expertise in these areas of mining, engineering etc..
JDM…even if you worked on the moon, you have no justification dragging our President into your shitty arguments. Get alive you Mugabe-sounds-alike.
Iwe JDM take your mulhako wa mazuzuru bumboclaat out of here. Mazuzuru are the most incopetent workers I have ever seen. They enjoy kuzipopa and demeaning others. Makwere kwere go home.
Kayerekera!!!
Am not surprised. The place is full of Nganyaz and you complain about the azungu kukonderana? I know of good instrument techs who were not hired coz they were not from the dead north. Athane nanu kumene.