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‘We inherited empty coffers’

Malawi Minister of Labour Eunice Makangala explains what government is doing to stop strikes currently paralysing the operations of some government departments in the country. Albert Sharra writes:-

Strikes in some government departments are becoming the order of the day. How is government dealing with situation?

Yes, that is true. Government is aware of all the strikes taking place. I hope everyone can see that, as Ministry of Labour, we are doing our best by trying to visit all offices where there are strikes to talk with concerned parties.

However, we have observed that we need to take another step forward in dealing with this situation. We are planning to have a tripartite meeting with all concerned parties. The meeting will involve all organisations involved in labour issues, workers representatives and the employees so that we can to sit down as a team and discuss the problems. We have observed that if we continue making our efforts as we are doing now, we will not achieve anything unless we engage all concerned parties.

I am optimistic that if government sits together with these parties, we can produce a better solution in the shortest period. This is true because the meeting will provide a good platform that will allow government, employees and workers’ representatives to voice their concerns and suggest how best they think this issue can be solved in the interest of everyone.

Recently, government bowed to employees’ demands after strikes and threats of demonstrations. Why is government not doing the same this time around?

It is true government has bowed to demands of some employees who were on strike and that happened after some discussions and considerations. But everyone should appreciate that the current government [inherited empty coffers] when it came to power. We are still struggling, that is why we offered an average of 21 percent salary increment to civil servants. If things were okay, I think government would have not resisted reviewing the decision.

Government devalued the kwacha by 49 percent, but raised civil servants’ salaries by an average of 21 percent. Looking at the soaring cost of living, does government view this as fair?

What you are saying is right that the 49 percent devaluation and the 21 percent salary increment are not matching. The problem is that when [we came to power, we inherited empty coffers]. There was no forex, no fuel and everything was down. I don’t know what would have happened by now if that situation had remained the same to date. We are talking of four months and I am sure the situation would have been much worse.

So, the problem is that the new government [is opening] a new chapter and we are laying a new foundation. Devaluation was unavoidable and it could not have worked to devalue the kwacha in phases. We just accepted to devalue it once and suffer the pains and forget.

The only problem is that the 15 percent we gave to parastatals is too little. But what should be appreciated here is that when proposing this percentage to the parastatals, we considered the survival of the offices. We had to talk with them and find out if they could survive after giving their employees a 15 percent salary increment.

Is there any hope that your ministry will lobby for a review of salaries of all civil servants?

Yes. As mentioned above, my ministry is doing all it can to solve these concerns, but as already pointed out, this needs team work with all the concerned parties. Government is aware that the 21 percent average salary increase does not match the devaluation, but whenever salaries are being increased, there are always factors to consider.

For example, we gave civil servants a 21 percent pay hike and employees in parastatals a 15 percent salary increase because there is need to move on. What I can tell my fellow employees is that strikes do not build. We need to engage in dialogue and find solutions in a peaceful way.

Analysts have argued that government devalued the kwacha without putting in place measures to cushion its impact on Malawians. What is your take on this?

That may be true, but I think this is beyond my capacity. I cannot give a proper comment on this. I think Ministry of Finance is better placed to comment on that.

What is your last message to civil servants?

My last message to the all employees in the country is that they should know that strikes do not bring results, but destruction. If they have any concerns, they should write to the appropriate offices and follow proper procedures.

Government is open and ready to host discussions with any concerned parties. When they come, we will look at the demands being put forward and whether the demands are reasonable. 

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