The Signing of the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) amendment Bill of 2023 into law has cheered many people in Mambwe District.
Mambwe District Education Board Secretary (DEBS), Christine Sinyangwe, says the signing of the Bill by the President had cheered most administrators in the area.
In an interview with ZANIS, Ms Sinyangwe said the actualization of the NAPSA amendment Bill of 2023 would enable many teachers who were in debts to lessen their financial burden once they accessed their partial benefits.
Ms Sinyangwe observed that the funds could be used by teachers to pay off some of their debts that they have and eventually relieve themselves of financial pressure.
She also advised teachers who would access part of their benefits to put the money to good use.
“I would advise my teachers to go and access these monies from NAPSA and use it wisely. I urge all of them to invest these monies wisely so that they can no longer be laughing stocks in society,” she said.
Meanwhile, Jumbe Primary School Teacher, Stephan Chulu, said the signing of the NAPSA Amendment Bill of 2023 into law came at the right time especially to the teaching fraternity as teachers needed a lot of support.
Mr Chulu said teachers had a lot of challenges that affected their performance in schools.
He noted that many teachers were drowning in debt, which led to many of them moving up and down searching for money that they could use to settle their bills at the expense of attending to pupils, which eventually led to poor pupil performance in school.
He further said the actualization of the NAPSA amendment Bill would help many teachers settle their debts once they accessed their funds and ultimately improve their work output.
“I see more advantages than disadvantages with the NAPSA Amendment Bill of 2023. Because of our short life span, not many people will be able to reach their retirement age,
Therefore, the partial withdrawal of one’s benefits will enable those who qualify to get their funds and invest it and also enjoy the fruits of their labour,” he said.
And Mr Chulu advised his fellow teachers who would access the funds to invest in something tangible and also keep in mind that the partial withdrawal arrangement was a once off thing, hence the need to use the money wisely.
