Demos congest council, cripple health services

Destruction of Mzuzu City health department offices during the anti-Jane Ansah demonstrations has led to congestion at the council offices.

The council’s spokesperson McDonald Gondwe said in an interview that the destruction of offices has forced the council to squeeze some of the employees in some offices which are already not spacious.

He said the working environment is not conducive, especially for health department employees who are now scattered in several offices.

“Every Monday and Friday the department is supposed to hold a departmental meeting to plan as well as review activities. Right now, it is difficult for them to meet. Communication is a challenge now,” he said.

The council’s senior environmental officer Augustine Gama said the department lost important files and some employees are still traumatised.

“The health department is a very crucial office in the city.

“We keep children’s vaccines and because of the damage, we are now keeping them at St John’s Mission Hospital. It takes time to go and access the vaccines when we are doing outreach clinics,” he said.

The demonstrations also left Karonga District Council with no offices to operate in and employees were forced to seek space in other government buildings.n