The Director of newly established Legal Aid Bureau Masauko Chamkakala and his deputy Trouble Kalua have gone without being paid for three months.
Chamkakala and Kalua started working in March after they were successful during interviews conducted by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
This was revealed when the two appeared before Public Appointments Committee, Legal Affairs Committee and Statutory Authorities to present their budget.
The situation was caused by the fact the salary for the top bosses was not factored in last year’s budget before they took office.
“Last year’s budget did not include the salaries of the Director and Deputy Director. Since March we have not been paid,” Chamkakala said.
“At the moment the Director and the Deputy Director are using their vehicles. There will be a time they will no longer do that. The Legal Aid Bureau has one vehicle which is functional and it is based in Blantyre.”
One of the members of the committees Harry Thomson described the situation as surprising.
“This is surprising because this is a new bureau which has nothing. What was the purpose of setting up the bureau?” Thomson said.
The Legal Aid Bureau has been allocated K384 million with K164 million to cater for personal emoluments while K220 million go towards Other Recurrent Transactions.
Controversy over Mponda’s position at Surestream.
The dust is refusing to settle at Surestream FC with news making the Technical Director Peter Mponda has resigned.
Surestream Public Relations Officer Linda Chiume confirmed the development saying the academy has just accepted Mponda’s resignation letter the former Flames skipper tendered last year.
In a separate interview she insisted that they had acted on Mponda’s letter he wrote two weeks ago.
“Yes it’s true I can confirm that Peter Mponda has resigned as Surestream Academy Technical Director. What we have done is simply accepting his resignation letter he wrote to us two weeks,” Chiume said without elaborating.
However Mponda said in an interview it was news to him because he has not resigned.
“I don’t know what you are talking about because I have not resigned. I am still the Technical Director as I am talking to you right now,” Mponda said.
He also trashed allegations that he wrote the academy expressing his resignation.
“They said they have a letter from me who wrote that? Even during the first time I only made my intention to resign verbally not otherwise,” Mponda, sounding confused said.
This has glorified the claims that the academy is in serious administrative crisis after Mponda acting out of frustration said he was being frustrated by internal politics.
“I have resigned because there are people who do not wish me well,” he was quoted as saying.
But Surestream Academy Chairman Chris Pittman said Mponda was the heartbeat of the academy and could not leave.
Pittman talked over the issue with Mponda who rescinded his decision to step down.
