Former MYPs Fighting For Leadership As Govt Is Yet To Pay Compensation

Concerned Ex-MYP Victims of 1993/94 Operation
Bwezani during 2014 petition to president Banda

Tension have emerged in the group of dismembered Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP) on who should lead their group and who should negotiate with government on their outstanding grievances.

MYP ended during disarmament of 1993 Operation Bwezani but they rejoined to ask government to give them compensation and premature retirement packages.

In 2012, government halted payment parade of their retirement packages after it was found that there were some ghost members on the payment list. Grey Chisale who led the unified MYP group was accused of perpetrating such malpractice and was ousted by angered members.

Almost three years after the incident the former MYP leader, Grey Chisale has now began issue warnings to the group now being led by Pastor Pearson Banda to stop engaging with government on revamping the payment parade saying government still recognise him as the leader for Defunct MYPs.

Chisale warning follows the recent petition which the group now known as Concerned Ex-MYPs Victims of 1993 Operation Bwezani led by Pastor Pearson Banda asked President Mutharika to intervene and quickly address their outstanding grievances that is; recommence payment of reasonable premature retirement package, compensation and stop continue engaging with MYP old committee.

Grey Chisale told journalists in Lilongwe that the Concerned Ex-MYP leadership should stop engaging with government because he is still recognised as MYPs negotiator.

Chisale justified his claim saying there is a letter to the Concerned Ex-MYP leader Pearson Banda dated 10th April 2013, from John Kalanga Secretary for Human Resource Management and Development which said Government believes that there is only one secretariate to which all Ex-MYP members are affiliated to whose national coordinator is Mr Grey Chisale and advised to sort out their issues with Mr. Chisale.

He added that on 16th September 2013, former ACB Director Justice Rizine Mzikamanda  wrote to accountant General informing on ACB concluded investigations pertaining to all allegations some Ex-MYP members had brought. The letter claimed that ACB has not been able to substantiate the said allegations as such the process to disburse compensation to the remaining Ex-MYP members can proceed.

“Am not defending the government”, Chisale claimed “But I initiated this group when others fled this country during the disarmament in 1993, it was me and my committee who initiated dialogue with government and this is why the government is opting to work with me and not the so called the Victims of the Operation Bwezani (Ex-MYP led by PearsonBanda) who were rejected by government immediately at the first attempt to introduce themselves as elected members of former MYPs.”

He further accused the Ex-MYP group for creating confusion among members of defunct MYP and prompting delays for the government to recommence the payment parade for their pension.

“To show their failure, they are insulting the president through their petitions and threatening the nation, so it means that they have nothing to do and have nowhere to go”

“These people have said are not satisfied with the calculations and model government is following when paying the terminal benefits for the Ex-MYP” said Grey Chisale

“I being the person who was briefed on how the calculations were done, am satisfied because there is no way a person who worked for few years would get millions of money but only those who worked for a long time and are eligible for pension can receive a lot of money yet the other group does not know this hence making so many demands.”

Reacting to the Chisale claims, Publicity Secretary for the Ex-MYPs Mr. Hendrix Chimjota said “This is very unfortunate because the sentiments are lacking truth. There is no justice in that.” Adding  that "documents being used by Mr. Chisale to justify the claim are outdated" 

“What Mr. Chisale and his committee would have done was to sit down and think why we came up with this petition. I still cling as group being lead by Pastor Pearson Banda, we are saying that these people were smoked out by genuine Ex-MYPs because of the ghosting that was masterminded by Mr. Grey Chisale in 2012 payment parade.” said Chimjota

“Mr. Chisale prompted for anomalies of ghosting, he ferried non Ex-MYPs from various districts to receive compensation money a thing which did not go well with the fellow Ex-MYPs. His action has left several genuine Ex-MYPs not receiving any compensation and retirement packages during the first payment parade.” Explained Chimjota who added that “We lost trust in Mr. Chisale for what he did, and if he was intelligent enough he would have resigned and stop this.”

“Some people were caught red handed with faked IDs by police” he continued and indicated  "government is aware of it, some were arrested includong those that were in committee of Chisale and Chisale masterminded that ghosting” he claimed

“It is the government that should respond to our petition a thing that we are waiting patiently, nobody should intervene with this!” warned Chimjota who also mentioned that government is still recognizing them and is taking into consideration of any issue they presented.

Ex-MYPs Plans Vigil at Capital Hill If Govt Pays Blind Eye on their Petition

Ex-MYPs Plans Vigil at Capital Hill If Govt Pays Blind Eye on their Petition

The former MYP's during 2014 petition

The concerned Ex-Malawi Young Pioneers (Ex-MYP) have warned government that if it ignores their petition presented on Friday, they will congregate at Capital Hill until their demands are met.

Ex-MYP’s whose membership exceeds 2000 national wide, presented a petition to Lilongwe District Commissioner’s office and the letter was received by Naphtali Chabuka, Management Information Systems Officer. The group is battling with government on payment of their retirement compensation and premature retirement package.

Among others the group is asking president Mutharika to act on long overdue grievances surrounding on premature retirement package and compensation following 1993 disarmament exercise by Malawi Defense Force and Police, dubbed Operation Bwezani.

“Should it happen that government doesn’t want to give us our money, we have to converge at Capital Hill” said Hendrix Chijota, National Publicity Secretary for Ex-MYP

“We will be on the Vigil” he added but said this will happen upon expiry of 14 days period expressed in their petition.

They have given Mutharika 14 days and 5 days grace
period then vigils at Malawis Administration Premise 

“We have given government 14 days, after the period expires and see that our demands are not met, then we will give them just 5 days as grace period” he said and assured that “From that point we have to make vigil”

Chijota said the vigils will be peaceful “But we will be camping at Capital Hill premises without being interfered with anyone or anything”

He repeated their demands “We are looking for premature retirement package because since the disarmament exercise was taking place most of us were young and did not reach a retirement age and secondly we are looking for compensation because the way they handled us we feel there were several forms of human rights abuse.”

Vigils will not end until government begins payment
Parade of their compensation

He explained “When we were being severed, we were handled as if we were not citizens of this country, our friends lost their lives and wives raped in presence of their children” 

He continued “We are citizens and we were civil servants who contributed immensely to the development of this nation in terms of agriculture, construction and security matters among others”

Ex-MYPs Holds Demonstration this Friday;

To Petition Mutharika on Premature Retirement Compensation, Stop Govt from Engaging with their Old Committee

EX-MYP marching to LL DC office in 2014

The Concerned former Malawi Young Pioneers (Ex- MYP) victims of 1993 Operation Bwezani are holding demonstrations this Friday Morning, in a bid to ask President Mutharika to act on outstanding grievances surrounding on premature retirement package and discontinuation of government engaging with their old committee.

In an interview with Publicity Secretary for Ex-MYP, Hendrix Chijota said have prepared a petition to President Mutharika which will be delivered to Lilongwe District Commissioner following exhaust of all avenues.

“Our core objective for petitioning the highest office in the land is to seek intervention and consequent action because our grievances are long overdue" he said, "Despite all our efforts to engage in contact and dialogue with top government officials to contain the situation but instead, they are choosing to be too busy to attend our grievances” explained Chijota

The group is accusing some top Government officials of swindling million’s of Kwacha’s meant for Ex-MYP pension and gratuity payments. 

It is also accusing the offices of the Deputy Chief Secretary to the Government, Principal Secretary for Human Resource Management, Accountant General/Pensions Department and Auditor General’s office for “deliberate gross negligence” and “deliberate rejection” of Ex-MYPs observation and overwhelming acts as regards to the payment parade exercise and data used some time in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

Chijota; man visibly in the black suit and white shirt

“After we kept on pressing the government on our grievances, they chose to use the very committee that masterminded the plans of swindling government money” claim Chijota

According to the group, the 2012 data had loopholes as a lot of ghost Ex-MYPs went away with millions of Kwacha’s when actual members were getting K1500 as minimum retirement package and K5000 as maximum package. The development led to arrests of several committee members of Ex-MYPs who masterminded the misdemeanor. 

He said they would like to appeal to President Mutharika to consider them on premature retirement compensation as former civil servants following expulsion without legal procedures and compensation of gross human rights violation in terms of failure to build better houses, sending their children to school, find well-established jobs as well as ill treatment.

Over 200 demonstrators
joined 2014 demonstrations 

This will be second time for the group to present petition to Lilongwe District Commissioners office addressed to President Office following March 4, 2014 petition to former President Joyce Banda. 

Last year’s petition had demands on compensation for premature retirement and request to probe some top government officials for gross negligence on very serious anomalies of ghosting, forgery and alternating as well as deliberate wrong data collection by the old committee that was led by Mr. Grey Chibaya Chisale for the Ex-MYPs.

The march is expected in the morning at Kamuzu Central Hospital roundabout going to Lilongwe DC’s office