Ministers
9 February 2006
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana has lambasted fellow African countries
for being in arrears with their financial obligations to the African Regional
Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC).
He was speaking at the 32nd ARLAC governing council meeting for Ministers in
Mutare, Zimbabwe on Thursday.
The symposium focuses on the role of labour administration in promoting
social security for sustainable development.
Countries in arrears are Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda
and Zambia and together owe ARLAC $912534.
The Minister said: âThese are countries with Ministers who get wages at the
end of each month and yet cannot meet their obligations to ARLAC. This is
strange considering that small economies like Swaziland, Lesotho, and
Mozambique have been able to pay and are in good standing with ARLAC.â
According to Minutes of ARLAC, some of the arrears date back to 18
years.
âIf we want to be taken seriously in international forums, we should start on
the continent,â the Minister said.
He was joined by Zimbabwean, Nigeria, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland who
called for tougher measures to deal with the defaulting countries.
Zimbabwean Labour and Social Affairs Minister, Nicholas Goche, said the
situation would be reviewed at the forthcoming annual International Labour
Organisation in Geneva in June.
Enquires:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
9 February 2006
