Thyolo DC replacement on hold
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has recommended appointment of an acting district commissioner for Thyolo District Council as it awaits to resolve the dispute around Dr. Medson Matchaya’s deployment to the council.
A representative from the ministry, Alufeyo Banda, chaired a meeting in camera yesterday over the matter, which was held in camera.
In an interview later, Banda said the meeting was a follow up to a letter the ministry received last week from Thyolo District Council councillors and other concerned citizens expressing dissatisfaction over Matchaya’s posting to the district.
Recently, the ministry’s Principal Secretary Charles Kalemba travelled to Nkhotakota to engage with council employees who wanted Matchaya’s immediate removal from the council where staff staged a sit-in over wages arrears leading to allegations of abuse of office.
The ministry resolved to post Dr. Matchaya to Thyolo but the move is meeting resistance.
Banda said: “I am here for a dialogue over the grievances that councilors raised in their letter. We know that what sparked the grievances are rumours and hearsay that Matchaya is unprofessional as a DC.”
He said he would report what transpired during the meeting to the ministry, adding that DC’s transfers are in handled by the Local Government Ministry.
“But currently, acting DC has to be appointed among staff’s pending responses from the Ministry,” Banda said.
On his part, Thyolo District Council chairperson Sandram Maulana, who co-chaired the meeting, commended the ministry for sending a representative to hear their concerns.
“I have to appreciate the coming of the PS representative to hear our cries,” he said while welcoming the idea of choosing an acting DC as the council was waiting for the ministry’s response over the issue.
Traditional Authority (T/A) Khwethemule said Thyolo wants a DC who can move the district to greater heights while responding to peoples’ development needs.
Last week, councillors in Thyolo held a meeting which was followed by a letter to the Ministry of Local Government rejecting the posting of Matchaya to the council. In the letter, the councillors threatened to take unspecified action if the ministry does not heed their call.
