Chadema: Govt owes social security funds Sh8 trillion

Dar es Salaam. Shadow minister for Prime Minister’s Office responsible for (Labour, Employment, Youth and People with Physical Disabilities) Esther Bulaya said the government owes pension funds a total of Sh8 trillion.

Ms Bulaya revealed that on Thursday, November, 22, when speaking to journalists on anxiety that surrounds welfare of workers in the country.

She said the debt was in accordance with the findings of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report that showed that the government and its entities had a tendency of borrowing from the pension funds without servicing their debts.

According to her, the government and its entities were also blamed for failure to submit member’s contributions to pension funds.

“Securing loans from the social funds wasn’t a big issue, but loans should be serviced on time, something which the government is doing,” she said.

According to her, failure to pay the debts has reduced the ability of the institutions to invest in development projects.

About the 1/580 formula used to calculate pensions according to the Pension Fund Act of 2017 and its 2018 regulations, she said it has no intention of helping retirees.

When contacted, the minister for Prime Minister’s Office responsible for (Labour, Employment, Youth and People with Physical Disabilities), Ms Jenista Mhagama, said she was not in a position to respond because she was attending a meeting.