... want answers on what happened to 0.5% CoLA

MANZINI – Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) pensioners want to know what happened to their 0.5 per cent costofliving adjustment (CoLA).

The Swaziland Pensioners’ Association (SPSPA) in a general council meeting yesterday resolved that an explanation should be ascertained on how their CoLA was reduced from five per cent to 4.5 per cent.

The general council was held at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre Hall.

This, they said, was because their demand submitted to the PSPF was seven per cent. SPSPA’s Secretary General (SG) Dominic Nxumalo said when they tabled this demand, it was noted that the deceased Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PSPF, Langalakhe Dlamini, had recommended six per cent while the financial actualities were 3.9 per cent.

Furthermore, he said the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises (SCOPE) had initially recommended zero per cent while the Board had suggested five per cent.

Nxumalo said despite that the Board had recommended that pensioners should be awarded five per cent; the final amount that was awarded to them was 4.5 per cent.

In light of this, the meeting resolved that reasons for the reduction of the 0.5 per cent should be established as it was not what was agreed upon. One of the pensioners wondered if SCOPE had powers to overrule the Board and take a decision on its own. It was further questioned on what was binding between the Board and SCOPE.

In response to this, the National Executive Committee (NEC) claimed that SCOPE had power based on what was being alleged. It was claimed that the genesis of the pensioners’ challenges emanated from the categorisation of PSPF under Category A parastatal.

It was said the reduction was wrong. A questionnaire was sent to the Director of Corporate Services at PSPF, Elkan Makhanya, on the issues raised by pensioners, however, at the time of compiling this report, he had not responded.

Meanwhile, PSPF Marketing Manager Makhosazane Simelane said they would respond accordingly to the allegations today.