Pension funds withheld
Oct 29, 2007
The sh60b paid to pensioners two weeks ago has not yet been remitted to their bank accounts.
By Geresom Musamali
The sh60b paid to pensioners two weeks ago has not yet been remitted to their bank accounts.
Some banks yesterday said they had received the money through Electronic Fund Transfer but not the accompanying payment schedule.
“The Government has not signed payment instructions. That is why we have not credited the accounts. As soon as we receive the instructions, we shall act,†said Stanbic spokesperson Dan Nsibambi yesterday.
The public relations officer of Barclays Bank, Michael Kaddu, said they had not received any Electronic Fund Transfer or schedule.
Stanbic, Barclays, and Centenary Rural Development Bank are among the banks that were holding on to pensioners’ money by yesterday.
This has infuriated pensioners, who were last week assured by Public Service minister Henry Kajura that the money was already in their banks.
The Government recently cleared pension arrears for 11,214 former public servants. About 60% of those pensioners have accounts in Stanbic, according to pensions’ commissioner Kiwanuka Nkusa. As far as he is concerned, the problem is with the banks, not the Government.
Christopher Obey, the principle accountant at the Ministry of Public Service, attributed the delay to suspicion from the banks.
“If you have been receiving a monthly pension of sh40,000 and you suddenly get a gratuity of sh20m, they will want to hold back that money until they confirm that you are being genuinely paid.â€
Bank of Uganda (BoU) spokesperson Juma Walusimbi said they were not to blame. “We acted promptly. As soon as we received the papers, we passed them on to the banks.â€
The total pensions’ bill had accumulated to sh284b. The Government has budgeted for shs186b this financial year to clear some of the backlog.
The sh60b paid to pensioners two weeks ago has not yet been remitted to their bank accounts.
Some banks yesterday said they had received the money through Electronic Fund Transfer but not the accompanying payment schedule.
“The Government has not signed payment instructions. That is why we have not credited the accounts. As soon as we receive the instructions, we shall act,†said Stanbic spokesperson Dan Nsibambi yesterday.
The public relations officer of Barclays Bank, Michael Kaddu, said they had not received any Electronic Fund Transfer or schedule.
Stanbic, Barclays, and Centenary Rural Development Bank are among the banks that were holding on to pensioners’ money by yesterday.
This has infuriated pensioners, who were last week assured by Public Service minister Henry Kajura that the money was already in their banks.
The Government recently cleared pension arrears for 11,214 former public servants. About 60% of those pensioners have accounts in Stanbic, according to pensions’ commissioner Kiwanuka Nkusa. As far as he is concerned, the problem is with the banks, not the Government.
Christopher Obey, the principle accountant at the Ministry of Public Service, attributed the delay to suspicion from the banks.
“If you have been receiving a monthly pension of sh40,000 and you suddenly get a gratuity of sh20m, they will want to hold back that money until they confirm that you are being genuinely paid.â€
Bank of Uganda (BoU) spokesperson Juma Walusimbi said they were not to blame. “We acted promptly. As soon as we received the papers, we passed them on to the banks.â€
The total pensions’ bill had accumulated to sh284b. The Government has budgeted for shs186b this financial year to clear some of the backlog.