United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has rubbished plans by the Government to reform the public pension scheme. In a statement released to the media, Mr Hichilema accused the government of using the reforms to avoid paying retirees what was due to them.
Below is the full statement.
The plan by the Patriotic Front Government to deprive the retirees of their hard earned pensions in the name of reforming the public service pension scheme is a mockery and should not be entertained at all. Retirees were promised that they will be paid their retirement benefits within 90 days and now that they have failed to deliver on their promise the PF now want to run away from paying the retirees what is due to them in the name of public service pension reforms.
We are cognizant of the fact that the PF have intentions of fast tracking the so called “reforms” in the benefit structures of the public service pension scheme from the current structure where retirees are paid a lump sum to one where retirees will be paid a third of the entitlement as lump sum.
This move if implemented will not only impoverish the public service workers upon retirement, but will create destitute a situation which is unacceptable.
We therefore demand that
1. The PF stops the so called reforms as they will bring nothing but condemn the civil servants upon retirement to despair and misery
2. The PF pays the retirees their retirement benefits as per their campaign promises
3. We demand that Article 124 of the Republican Constitution as amended in 1996 on the preservation of the pensioners accrued rights be strictly adhered to and not manipulated in any form
4. We call upon all public service workers unions and trade union representatives to reject any policy reforms that will impact negatively on their members
5. If any reforms are to take place, all the stakeholders should be brought on board. Pensions do not only affect unionized employees buts cut across the entire public service. It affects all public service workers who are pensionable including the men and women in uniforms thus the need to engage all stakeholders.
What are they expected to do with that sort of money if they are paid in dosages? Did they offer their labour in bits at the time of employment?
I think PF are planning their slow party workers, and now it will affect even the hardworking ZNS
Mind you this same package we are talking about can only do one thing at a time, it’s not time to think when you get the retirement package, you ought to have thought way before getting the money because it finishes very fast. So you can choose to buy a very good car show off a few months after which you will start failing to maintain it, or if you already did not start a small business, you can start experimenting but expect failure, and worst of all it does not buy you a mansion but what ever house you choose to buy it’s the only thing you will buy and the money is finished then you have to start looking for a job for survival.
get a loan while one is already retired and build a house, buy a car ,start a business while waking up at 10hrs every day until i die. sound good to me. i will never vote for the chikankata ward chairman ‘coz he might come and reverse this.
HH, i cant get the real point, are you for it or not, dont give options to yo… self and confuse people we want the real point, kufelile.
His point is that retirees must get a lump sum not in bits!
These are desperate measures in trying to save face, from the daunting fact that this govt is BANKRUPT both FINANCIALLY & POLITICALLY !
He makes sense for a change
Thanks
Thanks Mr. Daniel Mwamba (Mushota). That was a good contribution. You may now change you picture, stop abusing your daughter’s pic……..
l agree with you there!
Daniel hows it going at your behind today did Nick give you some,,,,
Whoever Daniel Mwamba is. Must be from Uk Zambia where he is a writer and copied pasted to see who he is last night.
Go and read about that mean on the UK zambian website about VISAS to london from Zambia very informative, as I need my sister to come over to Glasgow
I am not a man I am not poor Mwamba whoever he is
IDI0TS
And stop bragging!!!!!!!!!!
daniel @mushota you are done for good, oh no done is an under statement, as for the future chikankata ward chairman, let the civil servants make a decision its not you, efyo uwila ku ma election, let them respond and then talk- under 5.
Ba Daniel Mwamba (Mushota), you also did an MBA which you have been bragging about for years on this blog. It’s you chikamba. We now all know you are the man behind the Mushota alias being banged from behind by Nick. You are exposed chi color.
I always asked about Mushota’s sex…so my suspicions were correct! It’s a MAN
Can someone sing donchi kubeba please!
PF has used all the money from pension schemes on bye elections and opposition MP bribery .Now they have hatched a plan to use the same money to pay September salary increments.
The opposition MP poaching must be investigated thoroughly. The evidence is there for all to see that bribery was involved. Most of the opposition MP poached by PF were bribed with posts in the cabinet and money. The day is coming when shall be called upon to exculpate them selves before the nation.
Most actions of this PF government stink!
If what the PF has done by poaching MP from the opposition using bribery is not corruption,then the notion of corruption in Zambia should be non existent,its dead and buried. In a nutshell the notion of corruption is only being used by the PF to harass and intimidate those citizens with opposing views.
Corruption in the police,corruption in the judiciary, corruption right in state house, corruption in the ministry of finance, corruption in the ministry of Defence. All my God there is corruption every where under PF. Corruption has always been there in Zambia the only difference now is that it has reached level 12 compared to level 6 in MMD.
Do you see how unfair this government is. It has already allocated huge sum of money for SATA’s retirement home before he retires while millions of poor retirees continue to languish in abject poverty when they voted PF overwhelmingly hoping it would address their grievances in 90 days.
I am of the idea that SATA should surrender the money allocated for is house to pay pensioners their dues. This is the most sensible thing for a genuine leader to do.
People like Mwamba do not surprise me because useful idiQts like him will always be just that.
“Within 90 days all retirees shall be paid.” That was the campaign promise.
Somebody needs to compile all the 90 days promises our sickly Ukwa made. Nowadays every time I hear the number 90 mentioned or see it written down my heart sinks and am reminded how gullible and stup.id some of my countrymen and women are.
Shamenda’s explanation was priceless, ati “Paying them in piecemeal is a way of protecting the pensioners from blowing the money.”
Wow.
Did Shamenda himself blow the Money?
Where did he get the stupid NOTION.
God why do you allow me read nonsense uttered by HH?
HH thinks like a women and I don’t like it!
@ Mwamba, you are manner-less to insinuate that women a low class in society. Retire and feel the pain people are subjected to. You cant behave so impudently and insolent in public fora like this one. Grow up and appreciate sense from nosense.
You shall not use the name of the Lord in vain. Love the lord and your days on earth shall be increased.
lt’s hard luck for you, your day is coming sooner than you think!
You mean in this day and age there still people who think that a woman (in whose womb they laid) is inferior to a man? Stone age or what, but then again Zambians did vote for Ukwa, a violent, tribalist thug with no iota of an idea on how to govern a multi-ethnic country in the computer age because of tribalism and gullibility in relation to 90 days.
You are not normal, thats all i can say.
Pork your eyes if you don’t want to read HH’s meaningful contribution in the nation affair,if you think you will forever remain in power,my dear you are cheating yourself,instead of coming up with proper plans to develop Zambia,you are busy fighting GBM because you thing he is a threat to presidency ..
Banoko liwuleeeee lyapa tavern
only a dude that came through his father’s behind can say that about women. Shame on you dude.
Not interested in endorsement by the GRIZZLY BEAR. We want campaign promises fullfilled.
Lets balance equation
1. No gratuity for mps and kanselaz
2. No no retirement home for president
3. let them get pieacemeal
LET THE UNION AND GOVT GO ROUND THE COUNTRY SAME PLATFORM AND DEBATE THE ISSUE AT HAND. WE SHALL SEE WHO WILL BECOME VICTORIOUS
.
My pocket has no money as promised!
Yes no money not even less money in my pocket
@ mwamba reforms a ment to better the system, retirees r neither Tongas, bembas nor lozi’s they r Zambians who has sacrificed during their long poverty careers. people in zed deserve better for their effort.
what damn reforms are you talking about which will bring development??
Always peddling extremist opinions, is HH.
its time to unit on matters affecting people than parties en politics/.
@ 2201, Kalenga Street, you shall only appreciate a slave when he has run away. HH means well for Zambians on this one and not mere politicking.
How do you start splashing money without checking your bank balance? This is the situation the PF government finds itself in. Who wants a university pa panga without maintening the existing ones? What a f.o.o.l.i.s.h government! Now the civil servants have to pay despite being the most taxed workers in the whole country? If these unions including Hakaumba remain mute, then Zambians are DOCILE and deserve it!
@Decotexx you are Spot on!
The oportunist felow,Hichidisabled!The fela cant originate maters bt capitalise on statements isued by others.Thts wht we cal oportunist.Yes thts his character.The chap is reactive as oposed to proactive.Typical no strategic focus evrythng is done aftr somebody else isues statement.Then the scavenger & vulture masquerades over the hapenings.No direction no focus.
Dada, the reason why governments change their minds on any subject is citizens talking about an issue over and over again. As many citizens as possible need to lend their voice to this issue otherwise very soon zambia will be full of begging destitutes. As an example, recently government, through Kambwili stood firm on naming the new stadium by a ridiculous name. As you know, government bowed to pressure. Why? People rejected that silly name by talking about it daily. See the sense now?
See why I call our population docile? The MP’s get their gratuity every 2.5 years in a lump sum of over 3 Billion per MP. Wow, Zambian politics is such a lucurative venture. That explains why each MP would have paid off his/her car loan of 700 million in 2.5 years. Besides the cell phone allowance of 6 Million each month and the 6 Million fuel allowance….plus quality health care in SA or India…..! I guess Iam in the wrong business. Vote for me 2016 as I will put more money in your pocket, create jobs….of course my own job and we shall all be live happily ever after. Vote MP 2016
Sense Lelo ba HH. Bravo!
90 days BUFI. This Govt., is crazy for crazy non bald heads ruling us.
Zabwino Palibe walasafye ngamukela. How do you start building a house for person that has not retired and barely two years in office? This is Theft. HH means well. Am sorry am not a politician but a civil servant who has done 30 years this year. MPs Mid Term gratuity. This is nonsense.
Probably means to resign…..lol. And then the so called “piecemeals” can be useful for completion of house before expiry of term. Come to think of it, the scheme if not manipulated can be meaningful. It would allow CSs to plan ahead of retirement. Say Invest in bonds, stock market or even open smart accounts for their children’s future education. Im currently able to borrow from my contributions but can not get more than what I have contributed and this has helped greatly in establishing myself. A home, good schools for children, etc.
All will be well, hence this issue will be solved amicably from all the stakeholders!
Lump sum is dangerous that my bro spent a year then lived in poverty.
Clemon, how I spend my retirement package is non of government’s business. Why should my package be paid in ”dosages”?
This mean you spent on Lusaka beer!
Interesting, but I think we need more information before we start slamming Governments intensions. Below is how the UK Government will calculate my pension when I retire at the age of 65:
No. of years on the scheme/80x (annual salary) – this will be my yearly pension
My lump sum will be: Annual pension x 3
So not only will I get my lump sum but will continue getting monthly payments. I hope this is what ZCTU and HH are proposing. Otherwise we have seen how most retirees end up after getting their lump sum.
I think HH is letting people know that the government is slowly introducing Austerity measures without consulting them. People should not be amazed as this is common in Africa, one day a leader wakes up and announces to the people that there are new tax laws in place.
HH is outdated in his thinking, people retire almost everyday form the public service. Zambians are failing to plan for their futures because of people like HH, who are encouraging that mentality of thinking that a lump some pension will make a person rich and solve all their problems. If you have worked for 20 or 30 years and failed to have any savings or achieve anything from your salary to better your life, a lump of money will not sustain you for another 20 years!
The current system is not working, that is why we have a backlog of pensioners waiting for their money. HH sould ask himself, when did Zambia carry out any reforms on pensions? We cannot continue with an outdated system in which people are losing out due to inflation because they have to wait for 5 yrs or more to get money.
Well put!
Iwe @MiG people get the lump some first upon retirement ,then they continue receiving their monthly allowances until they die. That is the best way to run a pension scheme. People need lump some to finish their houses, set up financial projects to guarantee them income.
Of course stupid people who squander their pension lump some will always be there. If there are people blow up their salaries in hours, does it mean they have to paid on a daily basis? This is irrational thinking.
Should I take it you agree with paying Ukwa K2.5billion pension before he even retires.
Sata had to take his pension now before changing the rules because he knows that by the time he is out of office there will be no money left as Zambia will be in big debt due to reckless spending.
Eurobond gone?…
So why should MP’s be given a lump sum in gratuity every mid- term? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If a lump sum can’t be afforded for teachers or civil servants, then this should be the rule across board. It’s totally unacceptable if one section of society is treated differently.
Good points….thanks
On MPS: Im no politician but im not ignorant too. MPs are no CSs right? They are on contract from voters, so they are only entitled to benefits for as long as they are MPs. So make them work for their money and stop complaining . Hurts to have an employee who’s not delivering and I understand but we have the right to make MPS work and deliver for them to rightfully earn the gratuities………..just saying
I get the impression that this was a knee-jerk reaction on the part of HH and he never thought through the rationale behind the need to alter the pension scheme. He may also wish to advise himself that the world over pensions are being reviewed in answer to projections that the human life span, in the case of Zambia may double in 30 years time. We need therefore to look ahead on sustenance of the aged considering that we shall at that time be more in a money rather than subsistence economy. The family social fabric although may remain intact, the ability to care for the old will be diluted by financial demands of the money economy.
The Zambian government is borrowing what is already in practice in most western countries. Agreement is required that initially you get a lump sum (70%) and…
Napsa already does that.Napsa doesnt pay a lumpsome pension and no one has ever complained.We shouldn’t be debating such an important “policy” in a political and oppoturnistic way,but intelligently.For a example,are the monthly payments going to be adjusted for inflation?What happens when the serving cival servants receives a salary increment?
Pension schemes are a complex area. The shift in retirement age in the western countries is premised on two factors. Life expectancy has increased and secondly the fact that western families are experiencing a low birth rate. Pension pay outs are based on having a large young work force who pay pension/insurance contributions which goes to pay off current retirees. The Zambian demography does not follow this pattern. To try and force a pension model on the Zambian work force whose indices do not match what is being advocated for is trying to use false arguments to fulfill a hidden agenda.
………. and until death continue to get a reduced fraction of what was your last monthly salary. Upon death the scheme is transferred to your surviving spouse at a reduced rate until the partner also expires. That way people would be willing to care for the old, I think.
HH, please grow up, it is a savings tactic that can be used by the government to channel more money to developments, without pension savings, projects such as Levy Park to mention one. Please focus on tangible arguments, if I were your advisor, I would advise you to attack the government on statistics such as the rising Kwacha, rising inflation and air pollution.
@ Dark lord . Un bury your head from the sand my friend. There is more than meets eye in this issue.
So you also call K2.5 billion allocated for UKwa’ house saving when he already has so many he grabbed from NHA during his political career. Do you call that saving strategy?
Please, substantiate your claims, anyone can say anything but without sources, it’s merely an assertion. What is wrong with extending the retirement age?
90 day promises
1. 15 bags of fertilizer per farmer.
2. New constitution
3. Small cabinet.
4.Cheap fuel.
5.Cheap mealie meal
Add some more ….
why dont you ask those who always see things in reverse eg. phd holders from chikankata univesity to add some more…………
I.D.I.O.T
whenever HH opens his mouth, what we see is bitterness. forget Sata will rule 4 10 years by dat time HH would have completely Finnished and would have gone to look after his cattle in Namwala
we need dreamers like you on the site sometimes. sata will be a corpse by 2016, so do not trouble yourself to think and talk as though you are GOD to decide for the zambians. you are just an idio.t who does not sleep over HH’ s good and progressive ideas. we need new thinkers as leaders not riff-raffs we have now
If you given K1 million as your pension today but you have to wait for 5 or 10 years to get it as lump some amount, you will find that its purchasing power will have gone down due to inflation factors.
People should be encouraged to have savings and not rely on pensions during their working life. Buying an expensive car or a house from pension funds has made many Zambians to be destitutes because these items should have been acquired in their working life not when you are not expecting income to come from any source. HH and UPND have been criticising any reforms taken by the govt, even the minimum wage was opposed and it makes you wonder what type of government you can expect from them. Reforms are essential, we should move with time!
MiG what saving are you talking about. People in Zambia leave on tight survival budgets. They have nothing to save, even more so with the increases in maize mill and fuel and all the essentials. If it can be hard to some to save here in the UK what more in Zambia.
Very dull……how do u hav savings on a ‘hand to mouth’ salary??
Give retirees an option, lump sum or piece meal? Let them decide individually.
HH forever opposing the government and never offering an alternative solution. PF promised us 90 days and failed to deliver. Get over it, it’s been two years now. Instead of looking at the past lets try look at how we can move forward as a country. The opposition really need to learn how to dialogue with government and offer solutions.
Wat HH with the majority citizenry, says is full of sense! Pf is mismanaging financial resources bribing opposition mps, on pf induced by elections unplanned huge amounts dished out bribing and buying votes. Lekeni HH ateke Viva HH!
Shamenda is a lunatic. How on earth do you determine when & how i spend my hard earned pension. Pay in lump sum after all i shall never come to beg from you even if i blow it.
Chola Boy. And who do you want to look after your children when the become destitute?
Ailing UNPD dictator re-surfaces and makes his usual rubbish comments. How many retires who received full benefits and what has become of them afterwards does HH know. The idea by government must be welcomed. In developed countries no ones get a lump sum as pension. Its paid in monthly instalments until you kick the bucket. So HH just shut the FU*k UP
Congratulations PF .SOME PEOPLE DIED WITHOUT GETTING THEIR PENSIONS.Those investing in banking may surely be shiocked as their colateral will sure get affected as individual people will use their money to get more loans
HH is has nothing to offer.This is a very good policy.How I wish i was working in Zambia.Its better to be paid now than waiting for ages when you retire.Inflation is not static even Western contries are struggling to fight inflation.Fellow Zambians let us support the current Govt.
aaaaaahhhhh, go to hell and wait for your pension in the grave. i want my lump sum now while i am still breathing. why hold my money when during my working life i was getting peanuts? let me enjoy the money even if it lasts 2days, its mine,
HH has nothing to offer.This is a very good policy.How I wish i was working in Zambia.Its better to be paid now than waiting for ages when you retire.Inflation is not static even Western contries are struggling to fight inflation.Fellow Zambians let us support the current Govt.
@Mwamba. Male chauvinist pig! “HH thinks like a ‘women’ “. Grow up and get some education. Go to school!
It is true your HH uses emotions to think like a woman. Hard truth hey!! Painful for women TYPE OF MEN.
What the govt is saying is; suppose your monthly salary is 5million and your pension maybe 300million at the end of your service. So instead of getting that 300million at the end of your service you start getting monthly pension such that by the end of your service you would have gotten your pension meaning instead of getting 5m monthly salary maybe you start getting 10 or 15 m monthly coz it will include your monthly pension like what NGOs do.
And what will be the retirement age? 55 years? 65? You tell me how many Zambians live up to that age? What about young graduates who want an entry at a job? They have to wait for the likes of Munkombwe to retire? So workers just have to work for the administrators of their estates and ‘enjoy’ their pensions from Leopards Hills memorial park?
Don’t just support just because of partisan “blind loyalty”. Think cadres think! Your party said they would pay retirees in 3 months(90 days). So you have reneged? Have you apologized for this lie?
This has to be one of the worst contributions on this topic. Typical of a cadre lacking analytical skills or blinded by the fact that this/her party lost the elections in 2011 and that wonderful life they thought they would live will never materialise. Zambians are living longer than before so it’s prudent that we take this into consideration when we plan for the future. That is why such reforms are needed now! I see a lot of jobs in Zambia on recruitment sites, but still hear the so called young and educated complaining about jobs. Could it be that you have the wrong qualifications? It’s not governments fault that you have a degree in the history of African languages.
Assuming that per month i get k15000 then tax + so many minuses only to remain with k10,000 then kwacha against dollar world is k5.4oo,which means in actual sense i get k1000 per month, so pliz retirement package makes more sense than that clap by these fellows,can u imagin giving me or my children k400,000 at once i can even stand as an mp so pliz ba pf spare us frm this idiocy decision viva one HH…lastly k5m=500,000,k1oom=k2om bt thats why education is power kanshi sata taya nakusukulu bt tuletalikanafye atah….
I think HH and others opposing to this notion should try and advise government on which way better to pay pensioners rather than accuse PF, besides its one way they will gain popularity. I am in for it better enjoy your hard earned money whilst you are living than leave it for others when you dead, nagu shapwa bwangu- shobe wee….!
@kosmokojor. No bank will take the risk of loaning out money to a 65 year old retiree.
who told you?
the problem with politics is that it does not agree with rational thinking. people did not start retiring when PF canme into power. thes pensioners hae been ion the waiting list for over a decade. if they are paid at once you will remain wondeing whta in the world happened to your coffers. the reality is the funds have been misused over time from the times of the MMD and PF did not help the situation with their by elections. HH is simply doing one thing… politicking and He knows. what Zambia needs is a rational thinking and not lunacy.
2011 I voted for PF, 2016 am voting for HH, and i will tell him to reverse this s.tu.pid policy. HH will do better i think.
we gona reverse this decision once we form gvt come 2016
and what are you going to give the pensioners? cow dung? in 2031.
Kuipa pa manso monga ba mai bake.
IWE CHI MiG NIWE KAPONYA OR YOU OWN KANTEMBA WHWRE THERE IS NO PENSION? DO WE WORK PIECE MEAL IN ORDER TO BE PAID PIECE MEAL PENSION? WE MBWA WE.
I MEANT ‘WHERE’
CORRUPTION IS GOOD AND SWEET.
EVERYONE ON EARTH IS CORRUPT…WHY BECAUSE NO ONE HAS EVER INSULTED HIMSELF/HERSELF….OR ROB HIS CHANCES OR OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHER PEOPLE.
IN KAUNDA THERE WAS NO CORRUPTION AND PEOPLE WERE POOR TO THE BONE.
KAFUPI BROUGHT CORRUPTION EVERYONE STARTED SMILLING..THEY BOUGHT HOUSES AND CARS.NOW CORRUPTION IS EVERYWHERE AND THE ROADS ARE FULL OF BIG AND NICE CARS.MANSIONS,LOUGES,SHOPPING MALLS.HOW CAN YOU COMPLAIN.CORRUPTION HAS COME TO STAY.WHEN I BECOME PRESIDENT I WILL INTRODUCE ARVS FOR CORRUPTION NOT A CURE.KEEP SMILLING POORLY IF YOU HATE CORRUPTION.
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