The Ministry of Public Service has forwarded at least 7,874 pensioners to the Inspector General of Government for investigation after they did not turn up for validation exercise between June and July last year.
The countrywide validation exercise was conducted between June and July 2019 but Ms Catherine Bitarakwate, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, said the pensioners did not show up despite being given a deadline date for validation.
“When they did not show up, we sent all the records for investigation. We do not know whether they are ghosts or real but they did not come. You can find that someone is there but they are so elderly or do not have relatives who could have brought them,” Ms Bitarakwate said.
“They do not have their biometrics, we have files but we do not have the current faces of those people and their finger prints. We do not know whether they are dead or alive, so all that is with IGG,” she added.
Mr Wilson Muruli Mukasa, the Minister of Public Service, said the pensioners were deleted from the payroll.
“Those dubious cases have been forwarded to the IGG. So 7,874 pensioners worth Shs2.65b per month were deleted from the payroll in 2019 because they were doubtable cases,” he said.
The Ministry of Public service has said government is in the process of introducing a contributory public service pension scheme. Mr Mukasa said the scheme aims at addressing governance, accountability and equity problems associated with the current unfunded scheme, among others. He also said the overall wage bill of government has over the years increased from Shs4.2 trillion to Shs5 trillion in the financial 2020/2021.
The 2014 and 2015 Auditor General’s reports indicate monthly pension payments of 12.7 billion and 11 billion Shillings respectively to ghost pensioners since the ministry had not been furnished with their life certificates.
Section 18 (1) of the Pensions Act, Cap 286, provides that every pension or other allowance granted should cease upon the death of the person to whom it is granted.
It is provided that a pension granted be payable for a period not exceeding 15 years from the date of retirement of the deceased pensioner. After the expiry of the 15-year pensionable period, the law requires all pensioners to furnish the Public Service Ministry with annual Life Certificates as proof that they are still alive.
