By Peter Phiri:
Suspended employees of grain trader ADMARC have defied a call by Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa that they should return to work by Monday following government’s decision to indefinitely close the company.
On Wednesday last week government through Agriculture Minister Lobin Lowe announced ADMARC’s indefinite closure citing poor performance and that the company must undergo a complete overhaul.
However in a statement released on Friday, Nankhumwa ordered that all employees must return to work by Monday saying the Agriculture Minister has no powers to suspended operations of the grain trader.
But a snap check conducted by this publication around selected ADMARC offices has established that no employee has returned to work despite Nankhumwa’s call.
Meanwhile government says it will lay off close to 3000 employees to ensure that the company start functioning properly again.
Among others government has noted that the grain trader has been failing to function properly due to political interference.
This is not the first time that Nankhumwa’s directive has landed on deaf ears.