Drivers seal Lilongwe MEC offices
About 50 irate drivers besieged the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) offices in Lilongwe yesterday demanding payment of their outstanding allowances which the commission promised to settle soon after the end of the May 20 Tripartite Elections.
Speaking in an interview with The Nation, leader of the drivers Sezario Kanyangala said they decided to close the offices because they are tired of excuses coming from the electoral body.
“We have decided to take this course of action because MEC officials are saying that they are failing to pay us because our bank details are not clear. This is a lie since we use the very same accounts to get our salaries from government. What they are doing is inhumane and we will not let their officers enter the offices until our dues are settled,” said Kanyangala.
According to him, over 200 drivers are yet to get paid with some being owed as much as K260 000 (about $684) depending on the number of days they worked during the elections.
“If we were told in advance that we will not get paid up to now, we could not have accepted to take part in the elections exercise. Some drivers accepted to do the job because they were forced and threatened by some senior government officials,” said Kanyangala.
MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa confirmed in an interview that they owe some drivers money, but he did not have details on the exact amount.
“It is true that some drivers have not yet been given their outstanding allowances, but since the money is supposed to come from Treasury I am not in a position to say when they will be paid,” said Mwafulirwa.
