Councillors want the government to increase their monthly honorarium from K100,000 to K350,000 and have threatened to hold nationwide demonstrations if their demands are not met.
The councillors also want their motorcycle loan to be increased from K1.5 million to K5.2 million. They are further demanding K30, 000 airtime allowance, K50, 000 ward allowance and K60, 000 medical scheme allowance.
The councillors are pushing for the pay through a group called which told journalists in Lilongwe over the weekend that the councillors’ current conditions of service are not line with the cost of living.
Leader of the grouping, Alexander Cosmas, said councillors implement projects which Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers speak about on podiums yet the councillors are not rewarded for their work.
“Malawians voted for all of us. Surprisingly, we are only elected officers whose working conditions are pathetic and yet our responsibility is too huge and very involving,” he said.
He then called on the Human Rights Defenders Coalition to assist the councillors in fighting for improved work conditions.
“We must state that all is set for us to hold nationwide demonstrations if we are not attended to,” he said.
Reacting to the demands, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development spokesperson Mulhabase Mughogho said councillors are required to present their concerns through the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga).
