Govt to pay former Mbala District Council workers their dues

Govt to pay former Mbala District Council workers their dues

Mbala, February 05^th, 2014, ZANIS —- Government has assured Mbala Disctict council employees of its commitment to clear the backlog of unpaid salaries, and repatriation allowances to former workers.

And government says it will next week release the two months salaries for all council workers in division one, two and three.

Local government and Housing minister Emmerine Kabanshi says her ministry was working around the clock to ensure that the council pays out former workers all their outstanding dues.

Mrs. Kabanshi has however asked councilors in the district to put councils to task to collect more revenue to pay their monthly allowances and division four employees.

And the minister has announced that government intends to build a new state of art training school for fire fighters in Kabwe that will be bigger in the whole of southern region.

Speaking when she addressed Mbala council workers in the council chamber yesterday, the minister said government was working hard to pay off all the outstanding arrears to retired workers.

She appealed to council workers to give government time to find money to pay the former employees their outstanding pension benefits, long bonus, repatriation and unpaid salaries.

Mrs. Kabanshi directed council workers to show commitment to work and raise more funds to sustain their councils as well as pay salaries for division four workers who are not catered for from the grants received from the government.

The minister who was accompanied by Northern Province minister, Freedom Sikazwe urged council workers to work hard and raise more revenue because time for sleeping and wait for grants from headquarters was over.

Mrs. Kabanshi was saddened to hear that Mbala council employees in division four had not been paid for four months while those in division one, two and three have not been paid just for two months.

She asked the councilors to put the management to task to raise enough revenue to pay salaries for the affected workers and their monthly allowance since councils will bear the costs for their monthly allowances and other entitlements.

And acting town clerk, Pamela Zulu appealed to the minister for more staff in the health inspectorate section and improvement on the release of operational grants.