The Parliamentary Women Caucus (PWC) has bemoaned the challenge of high vacancy rate of gender staff in the country.

The Caucus’s Chairperson Lonnie Chijere Phiri raised the complaint in Lilongwe during an interface with officials from Ministry of Gender at Parliament Building.

Chijere Phiri has told Yoneco FM that lack of gender staff is constraining efforts in addressing existing gaps on gender-related issues at a community level.

“Some districts have it, others don’t have and even if they have, it’s just maybe one or two at a district level so we are asking and urging the Ministry to look into this vacancy rate issue.

“They should employ gender staff who should be going around the constituencies and hearing problems that we have in the constituencies because gender rate in the constituencies is just high,” said Chijere Chirwa.

Whilst acknowledging the complaint, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Gender Isaac Katopola said the Ministry will engage the Local Government Ministry on how they can address the challenge.

“We work with the district council under the decentralisation, so our officers who are working at a district level in terms of vacancy, we depend upon the Ministry of Local Government as far as recruitment is concerned.

“So, what we are going to do is to talk to our colleagues in the Ministry of Local Government to fill the vacancies at the district level, we are also working with consultancy to create more vacancies at the district level, but it is a process, it also requires resources which the government must approve,” said Katopola.

PWC has also called upon the Ministry to empower the Caucus towards working with gender staff in their respective constituencies id they country is to win the battle against gender-based violence (GBV).