K1bn pensioners’ waiting room irks critics

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has approved the construction of a K1 billion pensioner ’s pavilion, a camping facility for retired civil servants waiting for their benefits which critics have condemned as meaningless, at least, for now.

The project has been included in the 2022 Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP, a line-line of infrastructural projects earmarked for implementation in the next five years).

The Pensioner’s Pavilion falls under the Ministry of Lands which has a number of controversial projects that include construction of K60 billion houses for members of Parliament.

“The project aims at constructing a working room for pensioners at Capital Hill to provide a humane environment for pensioners and b e n e f i c i a r i e s o f deceased estates when the Pensions Unit is processing their duties,” the PSIP document reads.

Asked to justify the project and explain the facilities the pavilion would have, the ministry could not give details.

In response to our questionnaire , its spokesperson Enoch Chingoni said: “ C o n s t r u c t i o n o f Pensioner’s Pavilion is one of the pipeline projects under the Ministry of Lands.

“The proj e ct was appraised and approved through the PSIP process, but funds for the project have not yet been secured. Therefore, we  cannot give the timeline for the commencement of the project or give more details since it is not yet funded.”

The PSIP shows that the construction proposed date was January this year. However, resource constraints meant the government could not channel resources towards it in the 2022/23 National Budget.

Consequently, the ministry shoved it into the pipeline projects buffer which i t categorises as initiatives lined up for future financing.

“Pipeline projects are projects that have been appraised and approved through the PSIP process but have not secured funding.

“Due to resource constraints, not all proposed projects are included in the national budget in each given financial year. For the year 2022/23, a total of 161 projects could not be included in the budget,” the PSIP partly reads.

But Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) national coordinator Boniface Chibwana urged government to resolve challenges leading to pensioners waiting for their benefits for ages.

He said: “The Pensioner’s Pavilion project is just one way of dealing with a myriad of challenges locking pensioners. It is not an end in itself if issues of efficiency are not looked into.

“Bureaucracy is just one of the challenges impeding smooth implementation of pensions and we need to bring in work ethics in the civil service. The servant leadership mantra that the Tonse government has been preaching needs to be inculcated in the fabric of Civil service.”

In a written response, however, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs spokesperson Taurai Banda defended the project as crucial, arguing that there is no waiting wing for the retired officers.

He said: “Currently, the Pension Unit at the Capital Hill does not have any separate Pensioner’s Pavilion. This makes it hard and uncomfortable for the pensioners as they are waiting for the processing of the pensions and benefits.

“There is, therefore, a need to provide a humane environment for pensioners and beneficiaries of deceased estates when the Pensions Unit is processing their duties.”

He could not state the facilities that have been earmarked for installation in the pavilion.

Banda, however, gave a breakdown of the budget revealing that K150 million is consultation fees, K700 million for the actual construction and K150 million for equipment.

“Feasibility studies, that will establish actual facilities and their estimates, are yet to be undertaken. The crude estimate of K1 billion is more likely to change,” the spokesperson said.

Asked on calls to improve on efficiency in disbursement of pensions instead of investing in such a project, Banda said: “The ministry is continuously improving measures of guaranteeing the efficiency of retirement benefits.”

On his part, Church and Society executive director Moses Mkandawire said in the face of challenges facing the health and education sector, government should not be focusing on investing such an amount into the Pensioner’s Pavilion.

“Pensioners programme is not all that bad given the challenges that this group of people or their relatives encounter. However, also given the challenges that other sectors like health, education and other livelihood systems are experiencing, it is important to prioritise these issues,” he said.

Budget Committee of Parliament chairperson Gladys Ganda, whose team scrutinises PSIP projects, defended the initiative.

“Currently, Pension Unit at the Capitol Hill does not have any separate pensioners pavilion…There was, therefore, a need to provide a humane environment for pensioners and beneficiaries of deceased estates when the Pensions Unit is processing their duties,” she said.

Ganda, however, suspected that the project could be suspended following administrative changes that have taken place.

“Given new developments that the Pension Unit relocated to the new Treasury Cashier Building in Area 3, the committee expects that the project will be suspended,” she said in a written response.