Mr. Dennis Kalekeni

There is finger pointing in the government of Malawi on who is responsible for current delays in paying teachers' February salaries countrywide.

While officials at the ministry of Education point at the office of the Director of Human Resources Management as the culprit, the later says education handles its own funds for teacher salaries.

Meanwhile, the Teachers Union of Malawi -TUM dubs the whole scenario a deliberate ploy within the ministry of education to sabotage decentralized government salary payment program.

"It is high time government looked into ministry of education issues critically. May be they should conduct research and find out why these problems are recurring," says Mr.  Dennis Kalekeni TUM General Secretary when speaking to zodiak online.

Mr. Kalekeni alleged that some government officials gained from the old system before decentralization hence they are still putting up some resistance by trying to frustrate the new system.

The Teachers Union of Malawi says its own investigations have revealed that some civil servants within the ministry of Education were 'benefiting from the old system.

"These are the people that are frustrating the whole. TUM will demand their removal," says Mr. Kalekeni.

Education Spokesperson Mrs. Lindiwe Chide, on her part, parried the assertions saying, had that been the case, government would not have introduced the initiative in the first place.

"The problem is not involving the ministry of education only. All civil servants in other ministries have not received their salaries as well," she says. "As to the reasons why there is such as delay, the HRMD is the right (office) to comment".

Ironically, Director of Human Resources Mr. Samuel Madula told zodiak online his office would not take questions on behalf of the ministry of education which has the answers.

"We don’t control ministry of education funding. They have their own server and payroll," says Madula adding. "I am equally concerned. I don't know what is happening there. Is it that they are incompetent? Go back to them. Ask them why they have not paid teachers' salaries".

Ministry of Education Controller of Salaries Mr. Wiillie Tembo, however, insisted that Human Resources Management was overall controller of perks in the civil service and should explain.