Sheriffs have raided the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC), where they have impounded two of their motor vehicles and a fixed asset register.
The move is aimed at forcing the state-owned grain trader to comply with a court ruling that orders them to pay 3,282 retrenched workers a staggering K25.5 billion in compensation.
The sheriffs, acting on behalf of the former employees, stormed the corporation’s headquarters in Blantyre and the Mzuzu regional offices on Tuesday, where they sealed off offices before they impounded the motor vehicles and a fixed asset register.
One of the ex-workers and lead applicant in the case, Alex Malikebu, told local media outlets that the decision was arrived at after noticing that the corporation was playing hide and seek on the matter.
“We have decided to take this bold action following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum which the High Court gave ADMARC to pay us our money,” said Malikebu.
Malawi24 understands that ADMARC was ordered to offset the money by Monday, January 6, 2024.
In January 2024, the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) ruled in favour of the retrenched staff, a move which did not sit well with ADMARC—the state grain marketer appealed the decision to the High Court, but the decision was snubbed, and the High Court upheld the ruling by the IRC a fortnight ago.
