Judiciary submits wishes to minister
Judiciary support staff has submitted proposed conditions of service for approval by the Minister of Finance, Goodall Gondwe.
Judiciary support staff spokesperson, Andy Hariwa, said the issue of housing allowances is still in court as the Judiciary taskforce and government negotiating team failed to reach a compromise on the issue.
“We are waiting for the Minister of Finance to approve our conditions of service. The government negotiating team and the Judiciary taskforce looked into the conditions and we did the conditions together. Submissions were made to the Judicial Service Commission which later submitted [them] to the Ministry of Finance for approval as per Judicature Administration Act,” Hariwa said.
He cited leave entitlements and fuel allowances as some of the conditions of service that await Gondwe’s approval.
“The issue of housing allowances is still in court because the government stuck to its guns that it cannot pay housing allowances but we still feel that we have a legitimate expectation on the housing allowances. So, we are just waiting for the court to make a determination on the same,” he said.
Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development spokesperson, Davis Sado, said the committee that was set up to look into the issue is doing its job.
“After the team’s discussion, we will inform the Judiciary support staff and the nation appropriately,” Sado said.
Between July and August last year, Judiciary support staff such as court clerks withdrew labour to force the government to start paying them monthly housing allowances, as is the case with officers such as magistrates and judges receive.
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