Ombudsman orders DPP to pay 2009 election monitors
Ombudsman Martha Chizuma-Mwangonde has ordered Malawi’s governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to pay primary school teachers the party hired as its monitors for the 2009 General Elections.
Chizuma-Mwangonde made the determination mid November 2016 following a complaint 10 primary school teachers from various schools in Balaka lodged against the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and District Education Manager (DEM) in October 2011.
The teachers had claimed unfair treatment against the respondents over their alleged failure to pay them allowances for the monitoring services they provided during the 2009 Presidential Elections on behalf of the DPP.
The Ombudsman established that the complainants received communication from the DEM through the primary education adviors (PEAs) that they were to work as monitors during the 2009 Presidential Election whereby their duties were to send presidential results to specific phone numbers.
The teachers worked from 18th May to 20th May 2009. But when they went to the District Commissioner (DC) to claim their dues; they were told that their names were not on the list from Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
This forced the teachers to take the matter to the Office of the Ombudsman for redress.
However, during investigations the Ombudsman found that the ministry and the DEM could not be held liable for teachers’ services rendered to a party.
Chizuma-Mwangonde said DPP was the rightful respondent in the matter.
“It is not disputed that the complainants provided a service. It is further not in dispute that the service they provided has to date seven years after it has not been compensated for.
“However what is also clear is that the one to pay for that service is definitely not the respondents. The Complainants herein worked as monitors for the DPP party during the 2009 elections. It is DPP that is supposed to pay them and not Ministry of Education. To this extent I find that the claim by the complainants against the respondent is unsustainable, and I hereby dismiss it,” says Chizuma-Mwangonde in her determination.
But the Ombudsman seemed to sympathise with the complainants for failing to draw a line between a ruling party and government.
She observed that teachers’ complaint letter, whilst indicating Ministry of Education as the respondent, kept on mentioning the former President late Bingu wa Mutharika as one who could not hire them as presidential monitors without paying them.
“This point is buttressed by the newspaper article of the Nation newspaper dated 27th April 2010 produced by the complainants themselves. In the newspaper article the then DPP Secretary General Mr Bintoni Kutsaira was undertaking on behalf of the party that they were going to pay the teachers who worked as their monitors their outstanding allowances,” she says.
Chizuma-Mwangonde also takes a swipe at the tendency by political parties to use civil servants for party functions.
“It is my hope that this long time practice of using civil servants for party functions will stop. It is my hope that DPP will pay the complainants herein and all the other teachers across the country who find themselves in the same predicament,” said Chizuma-Mwangonde.
But the DPP publicity secretary Francis Kasaila said on Monday the party is not aware of the determination.
“We are not aware of that issue. But should they bring that determination to our attention, we’ll discuss that matter as a party,” said Kasaila.
