Dedza District Council says it is determined to retire over 20 direct employees who are still working for it after having reached and even gone beyond the normal retirement age of 60.
Speaking during a full council meeting on Thursday, Chief Director of Administration, Chikhawo Mbewe, said the targeted employees include revenue collectors, messengers, ground workers and cleaners.
Mbewe was responding to concerns raised by some councilors who wondered why the council secretariat was maintaining staff which was overdue for retirement while energetic youths in the district were going jobless.
“It is true we are maintaining some staff that are past the normal retirement age. This has been the case because we do not have adequate financial resources to cater for their terminal benefits,” he said.
“We are currently making calculations to find out how much will be needed for their pensions. Thereafter, we will devise means of raising those funds and pay them off,” Mbewe added.
He assured the councilors that all the over aged staff will be retired by the end of 2017-2018 financial year.
Councilor for Thete Ward in Dedza West Constituency, Moses Chibweza urged the council secretariat to act with speed.
However some of the concerned staff members expressed displeasure with the decision to retire them.
Speaking in separate interviews with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on strict conditions of anonymity, they said they were not happy to retire, challenging that they were still energetic.
They however said they would accept the council’s decision as long as they get their pension packages in full.