Malawi govt has not paid gratuities to ex-State House employees

Malawi Government has not paid gratuities to former State House employees 11 months after they left government.

In an interview with Nyasa Times this week, a former State House employee who asked to remain anonymous said ahe does not know why government has not paid them the gratuity.

‘’We are entitled to this money and it is very surprising that government does not want to pay us,’’ she said.

When asked, a senior official in the Human Resource Management Department (HRMD) said as a department, they prepared and submitted all the contract documents to facilitate payment of gratuities to State House which is supposed to have paid the gratuities by now.

The HRMD official said he too is surprised that up to now State House has not paid the gratuities. He said this does not reflect well on State House as it gives the impression that the institution is after victimising the former employees.

‘’But our job ended at preparing and submitting the contracts for the former employees to State House which should have prioritised the payment or at least taken steps to make the payments a long time ago,’’ he said.

Another former State House employee bemoaned the unwillingness of State House to pay the gratuities saying it looks like ‘’they want to punish us for being associated with the former head of State Dr Joyce Banda. But it is not right or fair to politicise this matter as it gives government a bad name.’’

He added that paying the gratuities is something that just requires the Chief of Staff for State Residences to authorise and act on.

But he said what is for a fact is that former State House employees are entitled to this money and one way or another they ought to be paid.

Chief of Staff for State Residences Peter Mukhito could not be reached as he was said to be in the United States with President Peter Mutharika.