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Liquidate debt to pensioners in next year’s budget, CCZ urges govt

Liquidate debt to pensioners in next year’s budget, CCZ urges govt
By Fridah Zinyama
Thu 07 Oct. 2010, 10:30 CAT

THE Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has urged the government to liquidate its domestic debt that it owes to pensioners in next year's budget.

In a statement ahead of the budget presentation this Friday, CCZ general secretary Rev Suzanne Matale called for a pro-poor budget that not only allocates money to labour intensive infrastructure development projects, but also makes sure that all pensioners and retirees are paid their dues on time so that they could invest their pensions and live a dignified life after work.

Rev Matale stated that the Council would like to see pensioners and retirees, many of whom have been waiting for their money for years, paid off to allow them send their children to school and engage in meaningful after-work economic activities.

She stated that the Council believes that by paying the pensioners on time, the government would be injecting money into the domestic economy, thereby positively growing the economy and improving the lives of ordinary poor Zambians.

“Whilst efforts have been made to settle our foreign debts, we have forgotten the former Zambian worker who year in and year out is always demonstrating before government offices for his or her benefits to be paid,” Rev Matale stated.

She added that CCZ was worried that a bad culture of not paying off pensioners and retirees was turning them into destitutes when they had dedicated their entire lives to working for Zambia and contributed to the country’s growth.

“CCZ believes that the best way of stimulating the local economy and creating local jobs is to make sure that Zambians have access to their cash on time so that they can use it to invest into their desired business ventures,” she stated. “By holding on to pensioners’ payments, a large number of Zambians are now being denied a chance to live dignified lives in our communities. We call for a deliberate effort to attend to this problem and make sure that retirees are afforded a dignified after work life.”

CCZ is this month dedicating its programmes and prayers to all pensioners and retirees that have not yet been paid their benefits so that they can receive their benefits on time.

CCZ is also praying for the families that depend on these pensioners so that these can find strength and resiliency as they wait for the government to pay them.

Labels: CCZ, PENSIONERS, SUZANNE MATALE

posted by MrK @ 2:59 PM