By Tovin Ngombe
Confusion has erupted among the Maamba coal mine retrenched workers over the withholding of one billion Kwacha that government released to pay them three months ago in Southern Province.
The retrenched workers wives and widows stormed Maamba police on Friday demanding the withdrawal of the injunction that their former Chairperson Boniface Chola together with his splinter group failed in the Lusaka High court.
Mrs Christine Mbengela told ZANIS that they have suffered for a long time at the hands of few people’s selfish motives to have their money withheld in ZANACO bank.
Mrs Mbengela said they decided to go the police to assist them in summoning Mr. Chola to explain why he has tortured them by broking their money.
She said they have reached at a stage where they could not tolerate the misery they have been subjected to when government has released their money to pay them.
Ms. Christine Kakene a widow said she has run out of food and they have no other means of sustaining her life.
The widow said she has failed to take her children to School when her money was in the bank.
She threatened that the widows were ready to fight their former chairperson who had filed an injunction to withhold their money.
“We have finished all the channels of negotiation and now we have reached a stage were we can not ‘stomach’ it any more, does want us to be involved in prostitution?†Ms. Kakene said.
Ms. Mary Mungwelu a widow said the total number of retrenched workers were 341 out of which 202 have died without getting their benefits.
When contacted in a telephone interview Mr. Chola who is leading a splinter group among the retrenched workers said the matter would have not reached the court if the current committee adhered to their complaints.
Mr. Chola said they differed in opinion over the allotting of asset and they decided to seek legal assistance.
However, the Secretary in the committee Peter Siavuulwe said Mr.Chola’s camp was bitter for being voted out of the retrenches’ committee because their were no asset to talk about as the current committee was using the same method of sharing the money which he left.
Mr. Siavuulwe who is also Maamba ward councilor challenged Mr. Chola and his splinter group to tell all the retrenched workers there hidden motives than making the innocent people to surfer.
He said currently their was another issue in court in which retrenched workers were supposed to be getting their salary from Maamba coal mine but they were not when the judgment ruled that they were supposed to be getting it.
Mr. Siavuulwe said it was only government which was paying them when they were supposed to be getting their salaries from Maamba mine until government finishes paying their retrenchment package.
Out the 341 retrenches Mr. Chola defected with 70 people after he was voted out of the committee for alleged incompetence.
