Council workers go 6yrs without pay

 | Posted on Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

By ALEX NJOVU
WORKERS at Lukulu District Council have gone for a record six years without pay, making the council probably the worst affected by general revenue blues dogging local authorities around the country.
And other council workers in Isoka in Muchinga Province have also not received their monthly wages for over 30 months while those at Samfya District Council have not been paid their salaries for more than 24 months.
Zambia United Local Authorities Workers Union (ZULAWU) general secretary Noah Kalangu confirmed this on Sunday.
The revenue base for councils in general has gone down drastically following the sale of councills houses in the MMD era and the removal of some functions from councils.
Mr Kalangu said council workers, especially in rural areas, are offering their services without pay.
“Council workers at Lukulu council have not been paid for over 70 months. We have just written to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to assist us in addressing this problem. In fact, most councils especially in rural areas are facing similar problems,” he said.
Mr Kalangu urged Government to fund councils so that they can meet their obligations.
He said it is important for Government to be consistent in funding councils, especially those in rural areas.
“The problem is even worse for councils which don’t have any means of enhancing their financial base. Most councils in rural areas don’t have facilities to help them improve their financial capacity,”  Mr Kalangu said.
Mr Kalangu said despite not being paid for over 70 months, council workers at Lukulu report for work daily, hoping that one day the situation will change for the better.
He, however, said it is demotivating that most ZULAWU members in rural areas have gone for many months without salaries.
Mr Kalangu commended the Patriotic Front (PF) Government for showing commitment to addressing many problems facing local authorities.
He said Government has shown willingness to resolve the financial problems that have beset councils.
“We would like to thank the PF government. We have seen commitment from them and very soon, they will start addressing these problems. They inherited these problems and they are working towards correcting the situation. We can only advise our members to be calm and patient,” Mr Kalangu said. / Daily Mail