The striking Mzuzu City Council union members have demanded the immediate removal of the council’s Chief Executive Officer, Gomezgani Nyasulu, and Director of Administration, Patrick Chipeka Phiri, claiming the two are failing to address their financial concerns.
The council’s union chairperson, Hudson Komani Mnyenyembe, has told Atlas in an interview that for years the two senior leaders have not dealt aggressively with the issue of salary increments, which has forced the employees to take industrial action.
“We are demanding a 25 percent pay hike, not the 10 percent they are planning to give us. The lowest-paid employees, like those who clean the city, get K167,000 per month. How can one survive on so little money in this economy?” asked Mnyenyembe.
The city employees say they have gone three years without a salary increment.
The employees have been on industrial action, pressing their superiors to implement their pay increment proposal.
This has affected service delivery in the city, as well as revenue collection for the council’s daily operations.
They have blocked the entrance to the Civic Offices with tree branches, and reports indicate that only the Mayor’s office is accessible.
When Atlas visited the Civic Offices today, Thursday, the employees were seen relaxed, listening to local music from a public address system, while Mayor Chiyembekezo Moses was locked in a meeting with union members.
Mnyenyembe says they have met various stakeholders on the matter, but no one has a solution to their complaints.
He said: “We have been meeting our Chief Executive Officer, but he has not been helping us apart from telling us that the council does not have funds. We travelled to Lilongwe to meet our Principal Secretary, and he too does not have answers.”
Insiders, however, say the council generates no more than K15 million in revenue per day.
This amount comes from market fee collection and city rates, among other sources.
Mzuzu has four big markets, which include Main Market, Matabwa, Free Market, Taifa and Lubinga.
In an interview on Wednesday, Moses confirmed meeting the two parties to resolve the impasse, and said the engagements would continue.
“There are several issues emerging. Issues of increment aside, there is also a personalised matter targeting the CEO. We need to deal with the matter in question first and see how it goes,” said the Mayor.
When contacted, Mzuzu City Council Spokesperson Macdonald Gondwe said he was in a meeting.
