MP proposes pension review
Member of Parliament (MP) for Lilongwe Mpenu, Makala Ngozo, last week asked Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe, to consider reviewing the amount of money that pensioners in the country get every month.
Ngozo said despite having worked in the civil service for decades, some retirees continue receiving peanuts, a development which he said does not demonstrate the country appreciates their contributions to national development.
“These are the people who shaped Malawi in one way or another. Yet for all their efforts, they continue receiving peanuts. Some get as less as K5000 per month and life is hard for them,” he said, adding that at least a minimum of K10, 000 per month could be ideal.
The legislator had earlier asked Gondwe to reintroduce the previous system where pensioners used to draw their monthly emoluments at nearest post offices, especially those living in rural areas “in order to reduce transport expenses”.
He argued that some pensioners return home with literally nothing after drawing their salaries as they use the same for transport.
Gondwe, however, expressed pessimism on the reintroduction of the old system, pointing out that, among other things, security threats such as robberies prompted government to change the system.
He added that the review of pensioners’ salaries might be considered “sometime next year” as the current pension scheme will be migrating to the national one.
“There are a number of factors that come into play when we look at pensioners’ salaries. For each time we increase salaries in the civil service, the same average percentage is given to the pensioners. From time to time, we look at the formula for calculating these pensioners’ salaries.
“We look at the final salary of the retiree and the number of years that they have served. We also look at the accrual rate; this is the percentage that accrues to someone depending on how long he has serviced in the civil service,” said Gondwe.
Pensioners – with most of them living in poor conditions – have in the past accused government of ignoring their welfare “despite having contributed tremendously to national development”.
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