Ntchisi Council recommends transfer of health officials
Ntchisi District Council has resolved that some officials from the District Health Management Team should be transferred from the district following complaints from their junior staff.
In a letter dated January 19 2024, addressed to Ntchisi District Council, junior members of staff at Ntchisi District Health Office demanded immediate transfers of director of health and social services Dr Alinafe Kalanga, district medical officer Dr Yakobe Machira, district environmental health officer James Mtonga and administrator Lydia Sibale.
The letter alleged that the said individuals were not effectively discharging their duties and disregarding staff as well as patients’ welfare.
The letter, which gave a five-day ultimatum from January 19 2024, was followed by protests by the junior workers, including closure of hospital offices, marching to the district commissioner’s offices and demonstrations by community members around the hospital premises last week to express their dissatisfaction with the district council’s delay to intervene.
Speaking during a Full Council Meeting on Thursday, Ntchisi District Council director of planning and development Violet Kamasumbi said: “Following this tense atmosphere in the district, ministers of Health and Local Government, Unity and Culture along with their deputies and principal secretaries visited the council’s secretariat and advised that the matter be presented before the district’s Full Council before a final decision can be made at ministerial level.”
In an interview after the meeting, the council’s chairperson Arnold Kapolo said: “Having thoroughly gone through the junior workers’ grievances, and the defence from the accused, we members of the full council have resolved that the officials be transferred and replaced.”
However, he was quick to say that the meeting disapproved the manner in which the junior workers conducted themselves, which included closure of offices and influencing release of gule wamkulu to hospital premises during one of their demonstrations.
