Date Of Article: 5/30/2002
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DC’s office told to pay death gratuity
By: Patrick Msowoya
Ombudsman Enoch Chibwana has directed the District Commissioner’s office in Chitipa to pay death gratuity to Chawanangwa Ng’oma, son of Harry Ng’oma, who died while in service with Ministry of Education in 1993. The complainant testified on oath during an inquiry at the Ombudsman’s chamber in Mzuzu that his late father was employed as a teacher and was stationed at Miwanga LEA School and died in the course of service. Ng’oma said he was issued a cheque for his fathers’ death gratuity by the Administrator General in Blantyre to deliver to the District Commissioner for Chitipa to encash, but that up to now the cheque has not been cashed because the DC has transport problems to travel to Karonga Treasury Cashier. Isaac Msiska, chief human resource management officer in the Ministry of Education, said it was the duty of the Chitipa DC to ensure that death gratuity was paid to the beneficiaries and that he would assist with transport if that was the stumbling block. According to the Ombudsman, the “unreasonable” delay to process the death gratuity shows that the Ministry of Education omitted their duty by not taking action within a reasonable period of three months and that the complainant suffered injustice since the gratuity has lost value after nine years of waiting. The Ombudsman advised the complainant to check with the Chitipa DC on the distribution of the deceased estate.
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