By Pemphero Malimba:
The High Court in Blantyre has ordered the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) to pay terminal benefits to its 16 ex-employees including former Director General Godfrey Itaye who were fired following a determination made by the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Office of the Ombudsman conducted investigations following receipt of a complaint from an anonymous person on August 18, 2020.
The anonymous person alleged that there was nepotism, cronyism, tribalism and abuse of office in the recruitment of Itaye and some members of staff.
In May, 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman then disseminated the report of the inquiry in which it said the recruitment of the said ex-employees was unlawful and irregular.
It ordered the communications regulator to discharge the ex-employees of their duties.
It also ordered Macra not to pay the ex-employees their benefits and that it should claim the funds from the employees, directives which Macra’s board adhered to.
In his ruling made on Friday, High Court Judge Mandala Mambulasa said it turned out that the Office of the Ombudsman wrongly assumed jurisdiction to investigate the anonymous complaint on the matter.
“That was not a problem of the 2nd Defendant (Macra). The Court therefore agrees with the argument by Advocate Mr. Edward Ndayera Dzimphonje that there is no legal basis upon which liability could be imposed retrospectively for any public authority’s compliance with a then lawful and binding determination.
“On the authority of State -and- Ombudsman… this Court is entitled to reconsider the whole matter … and determine what would be a more just resolution of the case,” a court document of the ruling indicates.
Mambulasa said considering that the ex-employees remained employees of Macra by operation of law, they should be paid all their terminal benefits.
“The Court is of the considered view that the Claimants, having remained employees of the 2nd Defendant by operation of law, they should be paid all their terminal benefits up to the point when their contracts ended or would have ended. It is so ordered,” he said.
He said payments should be made within 90 days.
“Payment to the claimants by the 2nd Defendant (Macra) should be made within a reasonable time and in any event, not later than 90 days from the date of this Judgment,” he said.
“For some of the claimants who were seconded from other institutions by the Government, it will be up to the 2nd Defendant to liaise with those institutions and Government for payment of any terminal dues for the duration they worked in the seconding institutions, if at all,” he added.
He has since ruled that all parties should bear their own costs.
Apart from Itaye, the other ex-employees are Benson Matengambiri Tembo, Vilant Tambulasi, Henry Macheso, Stanford Njolomole, Henry Shamu, Charles Fodya, Frank Mndala, Ruth Mgwede Mdala, Emmanuel Cornelius Banda, Timothy Sukali, Fearless Malulu, Daniel Datchi, Kumbukani Lisilira, Tiyamike Zawanda and McDonald Pato Phoya.
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