WORKERS at National Housing Authority (NHA) in Lusaka yesterday downed tools demanding, among other things, the dissolution of the board and removal of top management officials for allegedly “bringing problems” to the organisation.
According to NHA union branch chairperson, Oscar Mwananyanda, the main cause of the work-stoppage was to push management to pay the workers their commutation of leave days. This was to enable them attend to some of their children’s school requirements as the current education allowance was inadequate.
Mr Mwananyanda said the education allowance for those with children in Grade One to Four, was K500,000 a term while those in Grade Five to Ten was pegged at K550,000. Workers on one year contractual employment got K225,000 a term.
“The entire management has failed to run NHA because they have continued to give us reasons that the company has no money every time we ask for our entitlements.
“They have bought carpets and new furniture (for the company) but they are failing to pay us our meagre commutation despite approving them,” he said.
The workers were demanding that the chief executive officer Elias Mpondela, human resources manager and director of finance, among other senior staff, be investigated for allegedly “bringing problems at the organisation”.
Mr Mwananyanda cited, among other problems, the alleged unnecessary trips abroad by senior management staff using company funds.
Their other complaint was that employees were being denied salary advances when faced with problems.The workers accused management of non-remittance of Pay-As-You-Earn to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) as well as contributions to the National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) even after making deductions from workers salaries.
However, a check at the NHA offices in the afternoon showed that workers had called off their work protest.
NHA corporate affairs manager, Bwalya Makasa, said workers had resumed duties.
Ms assured the workers that they would be paid their leave commutation, but expressed surprise that even non- unionised had decided to protest.
She said management was scheduled to hold a meeting with the new workers union leadership to look into their concerns.
[Times of Zambia]
hehhee..just becoz Mpondela is an MMD cadre..?yayayayayayaya
Long overdue is whole I can say, actually thought they would be one of the first in the sack race. These guys are heartless crooks who have robbed poor Zambians of their hard earned money.Â
We paid over 640m for houses in 2010, till this day the houses are yet to be completed, houses that should’ve taken 8 months.
What’s even worse is that they can’t even refund us for the uncompleted works, efforts to meet Mr. Mpondela are always frustrated by his over protective staff.
Got, we appeal that they are not only sacked but also investigated, these guys have misappropriated our retirement benefits and completed their houses within the same visinity, wonder if they paid the full prices, I smell corruption, abuse of office etc. Please investigate Ibex twin palm project.
Mpondela has always been a crook no questions about that!
No 2, we are in the same boots. I paid these guys some money to build me a house at Twin Palm project in January 2010. It was supposed to be done in 10 months and it has not been done.
Mpondela is a cadre and he has failed NHA. Let him be investigated
I thought NHA was Mpondela’s personal/private company??
Everything has time…………………………………………….time to laugh and time to weep, time to steal and time be prosecuted.This life is meaningless.everything under the sun is meaningless.
Ba mpondela, sounds like you are trouble, all i know about him is that he carries three cell phones, 1 for each network and coordinates that sports activity every year.
No.5 @Nostradamus
Hahaha…………….NHA means National Housing Authority
I saw Mpondela joining Great East Road from Kalundu. He was negotiating his way into the road while talking on two different phones, one for each ear; the left phone squeezed to the ear by a raised shoulder, enabling him to use the left arm to drive while the right held the other phone. This is super magic.
LONF OVERDUE, AYENDE UYU MUNYAMA
Mpondela loves his phone… too much. Chanda is a crook.. Full Stop.
@uncircumcised william…its true you are not circum……..jubika…..its LONG not LONF….its a new word heeh….
Well spoken my young lady Bwalya Makasa! I am your secret admirer, but tell your superiors and their contractors to stop building substandard houses at exhorbitant prices. Poor finishing, failure to meet contractual obligations. And please asbestos roofing in this day and era for a company of your standing is not acceptable. Look at Zim just next door. Come on guys! Wake up. Bwalya with your fresh brains na ka MBA sure. Maybe you do not fit in that company. It is for crooks like Elias and his immediate cohorts.
@ANALYST, THANX FOR THE WORD “LONG”, BUT MPONDELA MUST GO
Numbers 2 & 4, seems like our team keeps getting bigger, I paid for my house on the 23rd of August, 2009 in full. Like the hundreds of families that invested in that project, my house is nowhere near finishing not to mention the shoddy works. I have made them change 3 door frames.
I go to N.H.A at least 3 times a week, whats upsetting is the fact that the same Mr. Mpondela goes about his business like nothing’s wrong.Like No. 2, I’ve asked for a refund for the percentage of works yet to be done but it seems like you are talking to a brick wall when dealing with these crooks.
For those of you still wondering how that extravagant campaign was financed, Mr. Mpondela may assist with some information seeing the excuse we were given was that the money was given to the then Govt of Mr. R.B.
Mpondela should have seen this coming. I dont know why the Minister of Local Government is keeping this crook for one more day. Makasa, just keep quite coz either Mpondela is doing you or your are equally a crook. Ask NAPSA and they will tell you a story on the shody works undertaken by NHA. ACC is aware about the corruption at NHA, including the abuse of funds recovered by the defunct taskforce. Is it becoz he comes from the North? Why is MAKASA so defensive of Mpondela?
Nothing NATIONAL about NHA, just call it Lusaka Housing Authority. These punks together with ZNBS are a big let down to the nation.
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Every where one looks this country is led by crooked men and women heartless people who dont mind how much they milk you, people who steal with a smile and go and pretend to be business men….its so pathetic there I was saving money to buy a house back home cutting out ‘luxuries’ and generally assuring my wife we would soon have shelter to return to and hence no need to get a mortgage and get a house in europe…when I went to get my NHA “completed house” I almost killed someone…the windows rattled when a door slamed the paint was cracking the doors where of poor quality..I asked myself what we had done as a family to deserve this, after wasting 500million I took another 350m to redo the house but the pain and hurt I feel each time I see NHA bleeds me.
I recall when this guy was given the CEO position at NHA, he put his personal portrait on corporate christmas cards ! I couldnt believe it. well Ithought that was too much excitement. As in terms of perfomance in his position, this guy is an absolute non performer. Sorry!
this guy has outlived not only his usefulness but his uselessness aswell. uyu koswe nakokola thats y alya na kasuba with both hands and both pockets. everything is double double
Guys mulelasa,wen a child revolts in a home as a parent(s),u nid to sit down and ask your selves questions why such a thing has happened,especially if child(ren) have been talking and u seem to have deaf ears.This lead to the down fall of MMD frm power.this is not the only institution where protests have occured but many.Good condition of service is what we cry for and wen workers are atleast confortable hamony will prevali and productivity will improve and boosts the corperate image of the company.U can talk of good policies to be implemented and the focused bt if nt implemented the its as useless as a dead Dog.As a leader u need to listen more and talk less nt vice-vesa.For me calls made should nt be ignored bt looked into seriously to gain the trust that customers have lost in NHA
aJKGJHV AN
I love post idea lists like this (Sean Platt also did a great one recently). Your second topic is a great one ?C I think another idea you can add to it is blogging about a failure you had and what you learned from it.Great work!