Mutharika, Mugabe petitioned over Malawi tea estates, ‘Thangata’ wages

Some disgruntled locals in southern districts of Thyolo and Mulanje have petitioned President Peter Mutharika and his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe to intervene in the wrangle involving tea estate owners and locals in the two districts.

Mugabe and Mutharika : Petitioned.
Mugabe and Mutharika : Petitioned.

The petition, which is recognising Mugabe as African Union (AU) Chairperson, has also been copied to 13 Ambassadors and High Commissioners, all Thyolo and Mulanje parliamentarians, the Ministry of Lands, United Nations and the Word Bank.

The locals, under the banner of People’s Land Organisation (PLO) are asking these leaders to intervene in the wrangle in which they asking the tea estate owners to honour what they call “Thangata wages” and land rent payment claims.

PLO has been asking colonial estate owners to pay Thangata wages to descendants of Malawians who worked in the tea estates without being paid while the land rentals are for the current estate owners’ continued use of the land.

The local gave tea estate owners 14 days from Monday, February 9 to address their concerns or risking facing the wrath of the locals where “PLO shall consequently deploy its professional team of specialists to manage and direct the affairs of the concerned estate establishments as a major stakeholder with 70 percent of the shares”.

According to the petition, the said deployment of specialists shall include ordering the sharing of all the idle land in the concerned estate land inventory to the landless members of PLO so that they start building houses and cultivating during the current growing season.

Chief Secretary to Government George Mkondiwa told the Daily Times that a team of specialists recently went to the affected areas where they made their assessments and subsequently submitted reports to relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Lands.

However, National Coordinator for Landnet, Emmanuel Mlaka, noted that most land conflicts that have engulfed some parts of the country point to flaws and omissions in the current Land Act.

Mlaka claimed that the new land bills they are advocating will help Malawians have legitimate access to land and be properly compensated in cases where their land has been taken, among others.

Tea estate owners were not immediately available for comment.

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Arthur G.M. Mtambo
9 years ago

APA ZAYENDERA, OSATI KU NKHOTA-KOTA, SALIMA,DEDZA,MANGOCHI,NCHEU.CHIKWAWA,KUMENE ANTHU OLEMERA NDI OBWERA AKULANDA ANTHU MALO AWO ——–ZACHITSONI A MALAWI
NANGAKUMENEKO NDI KU THYOLO TU

Charlie Hebdo
Charlie Hebdo
9 years ago

PLO, sounds militant to me. Dausi, you have work to do? Our country shouldn’t be a terrorist haven.

Jelbin mk
Jelbin mk
9 years ago

Whatever is happening am not interested in because am not convinced that these people can win this case if cuorted it is a similar case to that of Egyptians who were claiming for gold and some precious items the Israelites took with them when leaving Egypt of which the Egyptians did not have all the documents relating to their claim. And I’ll stay to wonder as to what role do these people want the world bank to play in this scenario.

Uncle Thom
Uncle Thom
9 years ago

A Malawi kwawo kuchuluka nzeru pa zinthu zopanda pake za zii.

Unconcerned
Unconcerned
9 years ago

What really issue here is that the world is advancing in everything look at org, developments, education and here at MJ & TO the old tyranic leadership which is undemocratic, just fancy a company without labour union to share ideas, and most of the colonialists are the tumbukas who are working in good position calling themselves wakwithu. these azungu are open but they follow what blacks do and letting blacks intimidate themselves. if we are fighting for good working relationship and condition does not mean we want them to go out you stupid tumbukas fled from your hilly land and… Read more »

ndadabwa
9 years ago

iii taonani nkhope za ma pulezident awa. iiii!!! azikazi anu ndi wopirira

Kïñg $häfêêíç
9 years ago

Dikirani ndiganize kaye zija zomangokomenta ndisanaganize zija ndatopa nazo

mafia
mafia
9 years ago

Kodi. Nonse mungot nfwe nfwe inuyo mukuganiza kuti minda imeneyi ikutipindulira? Look @ Naming’omba. Amwenye anagula, nkubwereka $500k pomwepo anatenga $150k kutumiza ku india. Ndiye ngati akutumiza ndalama yobwereka mmalawi muno kunja kuli bwanji akamaguritsa. Angotibera. Let’s claim what belongs to us. Za

dyton Chiwaya
dyton Chiwaya
9 years ago

Some Lhomwes ran away from portugues tyranny way before these tea establishments. Lhomwes hardworking tribe built the first railwayline. Were the majority who fought first and second world war for the British and many sectors of Nyasaland and when shamelesly u potray them ill educated. Ur misrepresents facts. Make research Lomwes are grandmasters. Some of u only gave each others positions kubera mayeso manipulators. Alomwe akukulamulirani mukhalira yomweyo baba !

gaba
gaba
9 years ago

The whites were the first to settle in that area,and the lhomwes came and settled in that area because the whites were providing them with jobs

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