Pensioners miss pay over bad accounts
May 19, 2010
OVER 2,300 pensioners have missed sh3b payment since last year because of errors in their bank accounts.
By Francis Kagolo
OVER 2,300 pensioners have missed sh3b payment since last year because of errors in their bank accounts.
Deputy treasurer Keith Muhakanizi yesterday said commercial banks had returned the money, which, he said, the Government has been paying directly on the pensioners’ accounts since October 2009.
“However, some of the accounts had problems. So, their money was returned,†Muhakanizi told The New Vision on phone.
A source in the public service ministry said the money amounted to about sh3b.
Most of the affected accounts, Muhakanizi explained, had names not corresponding with the ones the owners used while working in government. He urged the affected pensioners to resubmit copies of their bank account statements for verification, correction and immediate payment.
Muhakanizi said the change in the policy was aimed at weeding out ‘ghost’ pensioners.
“Their money is available and they will receive it as soon as their accounts are corrected,†he confirmed and advised the pensioners to speed up the process.
Until last year, pensioners’ money was paid out through the public service ministry.
But in October, the Government opted for the electronic funds transfer method, wiring the cash directly into the beneficiaries’ accounts.
The pension scheme has been marred by reports of ghosts and allegations of fraud in the recent past.
The finance ministry told Parliament early this year that it withheld sh130b in pension arrears, demanding accountability from the public service ministry for sh210b it received earlier.
Permanent secretary Chris Kassami told MPs that despite efforts to clear pension arrears, the public service ministry had continued to demand billions of shillings more.
As a result, his ministry asked the Auditor General to carry out a forensic audit to eliminate ghost pensioners. The investigation is yet to be completed.
Fred Omach, the state finance minister for general duties, told Parliament in March that 30,000 beneficiaries were missing on the pension pay-roll.
Accordingly, the finance ministry asked Parliament to pass a sh1.6b supplementary budget to improve the processing of pension and gratuity records.
Under the deal, officials of the local government, public service, defence, education and finance ministries would be trained to manage records electronically.
The amount to be paid out in pensions is likely to shoot up in the coming months.
The Government is also registering former soldiers who served since independence for pension.
Thousands of people across the country have responded to the call.
OVER 2,300 pensioners have missed sh3b payment since last year because of errors in their bank accounts.
Deputy treasurer Keith Muhakanizi yesterday said commercial banks had returned the money, which, he said, the Government has been paying directly on the pensioners’ accounts since October 2009.
“However, some of the accounts had problems. So, their money was returned,†Muhakanizi told The New Vision on phone.
A source in the public service ministry said the money amounted to about sh3b.
Most of the affected accounts, Muhakanizi explained, had names not corresponding with the ones the owners used while working in government. He urged the affected pensioners to resubmit copies of their bank account statements for verification, correction and immediate payment.
Muhakanizi said the change in the policy was aimed at weeding out ‘ghost’ pensioners.
“Their money is available and they will receive it as soon as their accounts are corrected,†he confirmed and advised the pensioners to speed up the process.
Until last year, pensioners’ money was paid out through the public service ministry.
But in October, the Government opted for the electronic funds transfer method, wiring the cash directly into the beneficiaries’ accounts.
The pension scheme has been marred by reports of ghosts and allegations of fraud in the recent past.
The finance ministry told Parliament early this year that it withheld sh130b in pension arrears, demanding accountability from the public service ministry for sh210b it received earlier.
Permanent secretary Chris Kassami told MPs that despite efforts to clear pension arrears, the public service ministry had continued to demand billions of shillings more.
As a result, his ministry asked the Auditor General to carry out a forensic audit to eliminate ghost pensioners. The investigation is yet to be completed.
Fred Omach, the state finance minister for general duties, told Parliament in March that 30,000 beneficiaries were missing on the pension pay-roll.
Accordingly, the finance ministry asked Parliament to pass a sh1.6b supplementary budget to improve the processing of pension and gratuity records.
Under the deal, officials of the local government, public service, defence, education and finance ministries would be trained to manage records electronically.
The amount to be paid out in pensions is likely to shoot up in the coming months.
The Government is also registering former soldiers who served since independence for pension.
Thousands of people across the country have responded to the call.