A group of retired civil servants Tuesday petitioned Parliament over delays by government to pay them their pension funds.
The former Malawi Government workers said the situation is aggravated by the repeated devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha.
In the petition presented by their spokesperson Ben Mitochi, the retired civil servants have since demanded recalculations of their pensions to compensate for the effects of the devaluation in recent years.
“We… have been waiting for our pension funds for an unacceptably long period of time. Several members of our group have experienced prolonged delays in receiving their pensions, with waiting periods ranging from two to over three years.
“These extended delays have surpassed our initial expectations and have placed us in a financially precarious situation, significantly impacting our quality of life in retirement.
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“This delay in the payment of our pension is also adversely affecting our financial planning and life goals while causing unnecessary hardships for retired civil servants across the country,” the petition reads.
The former civil servants further argue that they cannot live a decent life and are unable to send children to school.
“We are also failing to pay for rent while others whose houses were destroyed by the recent Cyclone [Freddy] are unable to repair or rebuild them and are, therefore, living in untold misery.
“Other civil servants who were hoping to build houses with their hard-earned pension may not be able to accomplish the same because of the rise in the cost of building materials,” the petition adds.
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The retired workers further state that there have been glaring disparities in pension processing that have led to disproportionate impact on retired lower-ranking officers “especially teachers” as compared to those in higher positions who receive their pension promptly.
This disparity, they say, needs to be addressed to ensure fairness and equity.
Mulanje Bale lawmaker Victor Musowa received the petition on behalf of Parliament.
Musowa said he will do “everything possible” to ensure the petition is presented in the august House.
Secretary to Treasury Macdonald Mafuta Mwale was not immediately available for comment.
The pension law requires that employers, including the government, must remit their workers’ pension money to appointed administrators.
