Lilongwe City councilors seal council offices over delayed honoraria

Ward councilors under the Lilongwe City Council have today sealed Civic Offices over delayed honoraria.

The councils, who were 17 in total, have also demanded resignation of the council’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Chome, the Director of Finance and the Director of Human Resources.

Mayor for the Lilongwe City Council, Juliana Kaduya, confirmed the development, saying received a communication from council authorities, informing her that there are no funds for November salaries for staff at the council.

Kaduya said the council has instead decided to prioritize junior staff in paying their salaries while the rest will get their salaries later, without mentioning the exact date.

“Even the Chairperson of Finance Committee is not aware that the council does not have money,” she said.

The development comes barely days after the council sealed the gates to the headquarters of the Tonse Alliance main partner, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), over unpaid city rates.

The council was forced to open the gates a few hours later without paying anything.

The council is currently sailing through economic turbulence, as it is owed in billions in city rates, a situation the council highlights as one of the major contributors to its inefficiency and lopsided provision of social amenities to the residents.

Ironically, politicians do not seem to be concerned, as evidenced by MCP to order unconditional unsealing of the gates before it honored its obligation to the council.

However, the disgruntled councillors are accusing the city fathers of incompetence.

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