PP attributes Malawi strikes to failed administration
Opposition People Party (PP) spokesman Ken Msonda has described a wave of industrial strikes rocking Malawi as a sign of failed administration.
Speaking during a Point Blank a one-on one interview program on the privately owned Times Television on Wednesday, Msonda said the problem rocking Malawi could have solved a long time ago should the government was organized enough and ready to address the concerns of Malawians.
“There is no point of sealing off Anti- Corruption Bureau Offices, the Judiciary because of the strikes instead of addressing the concerned of people. Let’s assume the police were also on strike, would the government also have sealed off the police offices?”
He said although the issue of salaries harmonization is a good development Msonda said the government missed out because it did not consult the stakeholders in the first place.
“The staff workers at the judiciary are under Judicial Service Commission, workers at University are under University Council. So the government would have first consulted these bodies on t salary harmonization not just working up one day telling the workers that we are not increasing salaries because of harmonization. That’s not the way it is supposed to be done,” he said.
Economic problems facing Malawi have resulted in strikes by various government workers demanding higher pay. For example, support staff for the judiciary has been on strike for over six weeks, seeking a 45 percent pay increase which the government says it cannot afford.
Workers at Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau went on strike demanding a 70 percent pay raise until the government sealed off their offices and threatened to forfeit their December salaries if they did not return.
Meanwhile, the support staff in the Judiciary have vowed not to return to work come January 5 2015 unless there is a positive response from the Executive on the implementation of their conditions of service as approved in 2012.
In his legal opinion addressed to the Chief Secretary to the Government George Mkondiwa dated December 19, 2014, Attorney General (AG) Kalekeni Kaphale proposed to the government to write the staff and those intending to go on strike to resume work by a set date pending reference of the issue back to Parliament for judges and magistrates and Minister of Finance for support staff.
However, law professor at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, Danwood Chirwa, has described proposals as outlined in Kaphale’s opinion as illegal because asking the Executive not to effect conditions of service as approved by Parliament was tantamount to usurping powers of that particular arm of government.
Prof Chirwa also said the Executive had no mandate to discipline the support staff because they are hired and fired by the Judicial Service Commission which was established by the Judicature Adminstration Act.
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Its not the north only who is not sufferin with this rulin even kwawo komwe anayamba kulira so zinazi osamangoza ve asimple reserch for ur self
Please, please, why listening to anthu opanda nzeru ngati amenewa. It is not a secret that economy is going down because Azungu ansiya kutithandiza. secondly it is also a fact that it is because of cash gate scandal…. so what do you want PM to do…. give him a chance
Precedence has been set by increasing politicians’ salaries. It makes sense therefore that civil servants who get peanuts be considered too. In fact they deserve not less than 45% increment of their meagre salaries. These are the people who do the work, not politicians. in fact does a poor country like Malawi need politicians to develop? It is time Malawi came up with an innovative way of governing the country. Don’t just focus on reforming the civil service, do the same for the political governance of the country. The roles of MPs versus councillors need thorough analysis for prudent usage… Read more »
The money for effecting the salary increase will come from the account number one. This is the pot where all taxes collected in Malawi are kept and used for national development endeavors. So what this means is that the salary increments if effected will negatively affect Malawian tax payers and NOT Peter Mutharika and his ministers and MPs as Kabwila, Nsonda and some CSO leaders would like us to believe. A simple example is how this move would affect the amount of money that can be available for buying medicine, building roads and so on. Workers of ACB, Judiciary are… Read more »
No 34 you yourself are a liar. Kwanukwanu ku nyika tatopa nanu ma bulundi inu mwamva
Ma strikewa akungosonyeza jelousy lomwe the northerners ali nalo pa APM ndi dziko la Malawi popeza paja iwowo dziko lawo ndi NYIKA ndipotu ndizoseketsa kuti akungogangalika ndi za kuno kwathu ku Malawi. Kwanu mukukozetserako chiyani kodi agalu ma CSOs inu. Uchitsilu bwanu.
No. 30. yu are a liar and shameless. Just leave JB alone. These strikes is a sign that anthu atopa nanu and not that the strikes are being fuelled by her (JB) ai. Lets acknowledge kuti DPP ko, ma style akutherani. Ifetu kwa Nkando kuno we still love JB and we are well aware that you , stole her votes. So msiyeni JB kumene aliko, amele mnofu wa Bakha.
The problem of running the government on contract basis. Every one wants to get away with money they can eat the whole of their life after retirement. Kale likati lizibwelera then the one party government was good as it was there to develop the country.
We are in this situation just because of you the PP’S. Although we are saying DPP stole government money, but the party which was seen in town flying with government stolen money was PP. We can’t trust PP in more. If you are anticipating that you will come back in government, you are cheating yourselves. Go to hell Musonda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pp is a party which has no future cz of cashgate