Friday, March 29, 2024

Government Secures K500 Million Civil Servants Debt swap

Share

Government has secured 500 Million Kwacha to help clear outstanding debts for civil servants through swapping of what government owes workers such as leave benefits and settling allowances among others, Public Service Management Division,(PSMD) Permanent Secretary, Boniface Chimbwali has announced.

And Mr Chimbwali says a lot of considerations were put in place during the negotiations between the government and public service unions to reaching to the eight percent salary increment across the board.

Mr Chimbwali was speaking yesterday, when he addressed civil servants for Lukulu and Mitete districts in western province at Lukulu council chambers on matters to do with PSMD activities.

Mr Chimbwali said economic changes, COVID-19 effects among others were put into considerations and has since called on officers to embrace the increment.

“In fact it will be paramount that civil servants undergo financial literacy skills in future to avoid officers having lot of debts which cannot to be met on their payslips,” he stated.

At the same meeting, Teaching Services Commission Chairperson, Stanley Muhango directed that all those who have been on acting positions in the teaching service for more than six months be confirmed immediately.

The duo are in western province to monitor the ongoing staff head count exercise as well as meet civil servants in central work places and get their challenges as well as successes.

55 COMMENTS

  1. We should consider to pass a law that will make it illegal to borrow. Zambia is a country of loan defaulters. Govt has failed to pay nkongole, civil servants have done the same, marketeers have even changed numbers because they owe mobile money service providers. Shthole country

    12
    6
  2. We should consider to pass a law that will make it illegal to borrow. Zambia is a country of loan defaulters. Govt has failed to pay nkongole, civil servants have done the same, marketeers have even changed numbers because they owe mobile money service providers. Tulifipuba

    9
    4
  3. You are talking about K 500 million for debt swap but you mention clearing leave benefits and settling in allowance. I thought debt swap include loans that people got from various lending institutions.

    8
    1
    • Ziyaye Moses Gvt will use the money that they owe civil servants (leave benefits, settling in allowance etc) to clear their (civil servants) loans. Meaning if I’ve a loan Gvt will forward my benefits or allowances to the lending institution. That’s were the term Debt swap comes in

  4. And we hear nothing of the Local Authority’ arrears with new arrears seemingly looming for the month of November and December (a repetition of last year). Boma yalubana zoona. Frustrating every effort of decentralization, yet seeming to be on top of the mountain preaching it. Awe mwandi, tikalembese kuti tikavote chaka cha mawa akulu akulu, otherwise we will be doomed to be eternally destroyed.

  5. What does this mean? The report allocates only one sentence to explaining its headline.
    No explanation follows: through swapping of what government owes workers such as leave benefits and settling allowances among others

    7
    1
  6. I have a feeling loan institutions will bear the full burden of waiting, if we have been having problems of late remittance of deductions to loan institutions don’t if the situation has improved now, how sure are you this will be cleared on time between govt and the financial institutions.

  7. The best is just to the civil workers what’s due for them as those moneys can help them solve some pressing problems….

    2
    1
  8. Debt swapping for Civil Servants?, not a bad idea, especially for those Civil Servants over burdened with with loans, this affords them a chance to start a new life with a lot of lessons from the past. As to wether its political, that’s not important for now, everyone is free to make their independent judgment in this democratic dispensation.

  9. What is the meaning of all this …you make it look like the problem has been solved? What of the allowances and benefits these people have worked for? Merely sweeping a dirt under the carpet….

  10. Typical Zambian behaviour.

    They start clapping without knowing the devil in the details.

    Last time, a thief told them he was humble.

    They clapped and voted for him.

  11. Proactive pf government. Tarino it angers you doesn’t it? Knowing that the government is doing something to benefit Zambians hurts the diasporans. How evil are these people? What happened to you diasporans to harbour such hate? I know you are racially abused there but does it have such a huge psychological impact on you that you end up hating your own? I am very shocked at this behaviour

    4
    6
  12. Incompetent thieves at it again. Without explaining details of debt-swap principle, A debt swap involves two parties exchanging their debts that often constitutes a legal agreement, usually one has a fixed interest rate on their debt while the other one does not. The understanding here is that government assumes all the debt of civil servants appearing on their pay slips paid by the secured K500 million in exchange for government to recover from the civil servant without interest. However government owes more than civil servant loans such as leave days commutations, settling in allowances and other employee due allowances. On the other hand, civil servants without any debt may not benefit from this swap meant to sustain civil servants and the application of this principle has to be…

  13. Debt Swap. A civil servant owes a bank K70,000. Government owes the employee K3,000 in Leave benefits.
    So, government pays the bank the K3000 on behalf of the employee. The balance is K67,000, which the employee continues to struggle with. This does not solve the problem, in my opinion.
    The real issue that has caused misery among civil servants is government not remitting the money recovered through PMEC on time; because government delays to remit, the banks charges interest everyday (overdraft). If the government takes up to say, three months, every day of the three months, the bank will be charging the employee, who nothing to do with the delay. As result the K70000 loan may rise to more than K140 000 due to interest charges caused by government’s delay to remit the recoveries…

  14. You want to take civil servants through financial literacy education so that they manage their debts, my foot. You as government have an unsustainable debt due to reckless borrowing and you want to educate civil servants to borrow responsibly. How?

  15. Not very normal,give the civil servants what belongs to them than debit swapping.suppose one has a five year’s loan running and he is owed very little by govt how is the govt going to clear the debt? Just give pay them their money.

  16. This is a true reflection of a caring government,it’s a welcome move,let’s just wait for the implementation of the same strategy,it’s not campaign it’s a government strategy,if a parent buys food and provide for the family, could we say it’s a campaign strategy?? Campaign to remarry your wife or to own your already owned children?? Let who ever is working do needful.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading