The Government Must Pay Pensioners Their Money Within Three Months, According To A Bill That Didmus Barasa Is Pushing

Didmus Barasa, a member of parliament from Kimilili, has resurrected a bill that would require the government to pay retired civil officials’ pensions within three months of their application. For civil officials who wait years for their retirement package after retiring, the UDA MP’s plan, which was submitted to parliament, would be a tremendous relief.

The main goal of the Bill, according to the Bill, is to change the Pensions Act, Cap. 189 to include a deadline for when an officer’s pension must be paid. It continues, “The Bill intends to address the delays experienced in pension payments to retirees upon maturity of pension funds.”

The Bill also proposes to add a new subsection to Section Six of the Pension Act that specifies a timeframe for the payments. The Pensions Act is changed by introducing 1(A) into section 6 of the act, which states that the pension under paragraph (1) must be paid within 90 days of the date it becomes due. Many seniors are now living in poverty despite having received approval from governmental bodies and line ministries.

The government’s decision to raise the retirement age from 55 to the current 60 years has contributed to the nation’s long-term pension backlog.

The monies that are designed to support retirees after they leave their formal employment have been unavailable to some for more than five years.

The Auditor General’s 2018 report on pension payment delays cited mistakes and omissions, late document submission from ministries and departments, late clearance of Government liabilities by the pensioner, and usage of unrecognized banks.

In order to allow for claim validation and error correction while the officer is still on the job, claims for normal retirement should be submitted at least nine months before the officer’s date of departure, according to the Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual for Public Service.