900 pensioners get payment
Aug 07, 2007
The Government has paid sh15b in pension arrears to about 900 retired civil servants in July, the public service ministry has said.
By Paul Busharizi
The Government has paid sh15b in pension arrears to about 900 retired civil servants in July, the public service ministry has said.
The arrears, which date back to 1976, are owed to about 70,000 retired public servants – teachers, Police and Prisons officers, UPDF veterans, local government officials and surviving relatives – as well as retired employees of the East African Community.
The EAC was dissolved in 1976 when Idi Amin, Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta and Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere fell out.
“All these obligations had amounted to about sh300b. But we have been paying some money over the years, that is why the arrears are down,†minister Henry Kajura told The New Vision. “This allocation will allow us to make serious inroads into the pension arrears.â€
An amount of sh186b has been allocated this financial year for pension arrears, bringing the total down to sh98b.
Kajura said the arrears catered for the lumpsum due to all public servants at retirement. He said monthly pension payments had been met consistently.
Under the public service pension scheme, retired workers are entitled to one-third of their total salary of 15 years as a lumpsum but continue to receive a monthly pension equivalent to two-thirds of their monthly salary at retirement.
Retiring civil servants are only eligible for the pension if they have worked for at least 10 years in the public service and retire when they are at least 45 years old.
The next batch of pensioners should receive their arrears between October and December.
“People have submitted documentation, we have processed it and as we get the money we shall disburse it …. We expect the next release to come in the next quarter,†the commissioner for pensions Kiwanuka-Kunsa said.
The public service ministry has hired additional staff to process the claims and Kiwanuka said the payment should be done more efficiently with the new electronic fund transfer system.
Starting in July, the Bank of Uganda ordered that electronic fund transfers between accounts, and not cheques, be used for payments above sh20m.
Kajura explained that the accumulation of arrears had arisen due to various circumstances including a public service salary increment that was backdated 10 years, pension arrears due to workers of the former East African Community and the fact that local governments did not have the capacity to meet their workers’ pension obligations.
The Government has paid sh15b in pension arrears to about 900 retired civil servants in July, the public service ministry has said.
The arrears, which date back to 1976, are owed to about 70,000 retired public servants – teachers, Police and Prisons officers, UPDF veterans, local government officials and surviving relatives – as well as retired employees of the East African Community.
The EAC was dissolved in 1976 when Idi Amin, Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta and Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere fell out.
“All these obligations had amounted to about sh300b. But we have been paying some money over the years, that is why the arrears are down,†minister Henry Kajura told The New Vision. “This allocation will allow us to make serious inroads into the pension arrears.â€
An amount of sh186b has been allocated this financial year for pension arrears, bringing the total down to sh98b.
Kajura said the arrears catered for the lumpsum due to all public servants at retirement. He said monthly pension payments had been met consistently.
Under the public service pension scheme, retired workers are entitled to one-third of their total salary of 15 years as a lumpsum but continue to receive a monthly pension equivalent to two-thirds of their monthly salary at retirement.
Retiring civil servants are only eligible for the pension if they have worked for at least 10 years in the public service and retire when they are at least 45 years old.
The next batch of pensioners should receive their arrears between October and December.
“People have submitted documentation, we have processed it and as we get the money we shall disburse it …. We expect the next release to come in the next quarter,†the commissioner for pensions Kiwanuka-Kunsa said.
The public service ministry has hired additional staff to process the claims and Kiwanuka said the payment should be done more efficiently with the new electronic fund transfer system.
Starting in July, the Bank of Uganda ordered that electronic fund transfers between accounts, and not cheques, be used for payments above sh20m.
Kajura explained that the accumulation of arrears had arisen due to various circumstances including a public service salary increment that was backdated 10 years, pension arrears due to workers of the former East African Community and the fact that local governments did not have the capacity to meet their workers’ pension obligations.