Minister storms Malawi Housing Corporation over striking staff

In a bid to defuse tension between management and striking Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) members of staff, Housing Minister Kezzie Msukwa travelled to Blantyre on Tuesday to bring the two parties to a round table.

Msukwa said, after hearing from the workers, he would take the issues they raised to the board.

“Having met the workers union and management, I am taking the issue to the board so that we mandate the board to go ahead and implement what we have agreed but there is nothing new. The board had approved most of the issues that relate to their [workers’] welfare.

“When members of the new board came in, they found MHC in a sorry state and it has been very difficult for the board of directors to direct operations of the corporation because of the state it was in,’’ he said.

MHC Workers Union President Kondwani Chitimbe said they presented a number of issues to the minister.

“We are lucky because we had two ministers in the meeting and we have finally found a solution. The solution is that they have found a solution and we will be back in our offices because we have already lost revenue,” he said.

Also in attendance was Lands Deputy Minister Abida Mia.

MHC staff had been striking since Friday last week, chanting songs outside MHC headquarters.