Mzuzu City Council staff go four months without salary

Life is becoming unbearable for Mzuzu City Council (MCC) employees as they have gone four months without receiving their salaries.

Speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday, one of the MCC workers said: “We do not have other sources of income yet we have to pay rent, bills and school fees for our children. How can we support our families under such conditions? It is also surprising that there is no explanation for the situation.”

MCC spokesperson McDonald Gondwe confirmed the situation, saying the council is working to resolve the problem.

“Our team is working tirelessly to ensure that every staff member is paid his [or her] salary,” he said.

Gondwe appealed to property owners in Mzuzu to promptly pay city rates to keep the council’s operations running.

“The council heavily relies on city rates to run its affairs,” he said.

In July this year, MCC director of planning and development Alexander Chirambo said there is a high default rate in the city such that the council fails to meet its K600 million annual revenue target. He said last year MCC collected K300 million.