The Government of Swaziland / eSwatini has been
accused of ‘looting’ the Public Servants Pension Fund of E2 billion.
It has taken money without the knowledge of pensioners,
it was claimed.
Former Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President and
current member of the Swaziland Public Pensioners Association Sibongile
Mazibuko told a meeting of public sector workers E2 billion (US$150 million) had
been taken from the fund by the government.
The PSPF was established in 1993 for
the management and administration of pensions for government (public
sector) employees. According to the PSPF annual report for 2017 it had
assets of E20.5 billion but liabilities of E27 billion. It has 40,496 active
members and 26,035 retired pensioners.
The Swazi Observer reported on
Tuesday (29 January 2019), ‘She was highlighting that the workers could find
themselves having nothing to live on during their retiring days because
seemingly, government was looting funds from PSPF. She based what she was
speaking about on a PSPF 2017 annual report.’
It added, ‘Mazibuko said what government was doing
was tantamount to looting because it borrowed the money without the knowledge
of pensioners.’
The Observer
reported, ‘Civil servants make a certain contribution to PSPF so that they can
live on monthly annuities when they retire. However, it became clear to some of
them that they could find themselves having nothing to live on after they
retire.’
In April 2018 pensioners marched to protest against the government
taking full control of the PSPF. They were led by the
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) with the Trade Union Congress
of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and representatives
of other trade unions. They delivered petitions to government ministries in Mbabane,
and to parliament at Lobamba.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported
at the time the pensioners said the PSPF was ‘now at risk
of being depleted by government’. It added they said ‘government will find it
easy to loot the pensioners’ money’.
Pensioners feared money in the PSPF would be misused
by government. The march came as King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of
Swaziland, took delivery of an A340 Airbus, his second private jet. It was paid
for out of public funds and may
have cost as much as US$30 million. The King also has 13 palaces and
fleets of top-of-the range BMW and Mercedes cars.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of the estimated 1.2 million
population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2
per day.
See also
Pensioners
march to stop ‘looting’
Swazi
Govt steals pension funds
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