THE boardroom fights at the National Social Security
Authority (NSSA) took a new twist yesterday with fired former general manager
Elizabeth Chitiga being barred from entering her office to resume her duties
after her lawyers challenged her expulsion.
Chitiga arrived at NSSA headquarters at around 11am before
security guards blocked her from entering her office on the 10th floor.
The guards claimed they had received orders not to allow
Chitiga and former board chairperson Robin Vela from entering the premises.
The guards later produced a prohibition order dated April
17 and signed by one Choto, a NSSA commissionaire.
The order read: “With immediate effect, our CEO Liz Chitiga
and Mr Vela (chairman), have been barred to access NSSA head office following
an executive instruction. For any queries, contact Mr Garwi on 7068 or Mr Choto
on 7064. Make sure that the instruction will be adhered to.”
Chitiga was fired early this month together with three
other executives.
But Chitiga, through her lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa wrote to
NSSA on April 9, challenging her dismissal and gave the pension authority until
April 12 to respond or she automatically reports back to work.
Mtetwa argued that the NSSA board had no authority to
cancel Chitiga’s contract.
“Your letter also advises that ‘the board has decided to
bring forward the expiry of your fixed term of employment contract’. We have
perused the employment contract signed between our client and the authority and
have failed to find in it any provision that empowers the board to
unilaterally, and without any form of due process, ‘accelerate’ the expiry of
the employment contract,” Mtetwa wrote.
“Would you, therefore, kindly advise the clause or
provision in the contract that empowers the board ‘to bring forward the expiry’
of the employment contract between our client and the authority. Should there
be any other conditions of service which empower the board to accelerate the expiry
of the contract, or any other legal instruments recognised under the Labour Act
which the board has relied upon, we request that you fully set out the legal
instruments under which the Board has purported to act.”
She added: “If we therefore have not heard from you by
April 12, 2018, please be advised that our client will thereafter report for
work.”
NSSA spokesperson, Tendai Mutseyekwa said he was not aware
of the incident. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment