The Sunday Mail
For about 33 years, Mrs Elizabeth Mukundu was the ideal employee: a grafter, dependable and — above all — loyal.
During her many years of service, she put her dreams on hold to take care of family, and later her ailing husband; not to mention the numerous patients she took care off, always with a smile.
A nurse, formerly employed by the Harare City Council, Ms Mukundu is 65 years old now.
The resentment she has towards her former employer is palpable as she narrates her toughest challenge — the 2008 cholera outbreak.
“I hardly had time to myself as we worked odd hours, sometimes sleeping for just an hour or two as we came back from work at the wee hours of the morning.
“It didn’t matter what your position was, we all had to do our part as patients came in their hundreds on a weekly basis and it got so bad that I actually had to be called back from leave to help out,” she recalls.
One year into retirement from the council, Mrs Mukundu — like many others — is struggling to make ends meet.
Mrs Mukundu is one of the thousands of the retired former Harare City Council employees who are living in squalor after failing to get their pension benefits.
At a time when city officials are splashing millions of US dollars on luxury cars and enjoying the perks that come with their big offices, the ordinary workers live from hand to mouth.
“We understand that council is currently experiencing challenges, like most companies in the country, but the fact that they are yet to give us even a cent while they enjoy the perks and privileges of those jobs is hard to swallow.
“When we make inquiries we are given some of the flimsiest of excuses and up until now we don’t know where our pension deductions were channelled towards.
“Being a nurse in council for so many years, it pains me to know that they are treating us like this . . . They do not care about your welfare after you turn in,” says Mrs Mukundu.
Her husband, Mr Thomas Mukundu, was diagnosed with dementia in 2009, making her the breadwinner for him and four children they care for.
And she has to contend with her own health issues, which are plenty.
Heart complications, arthritis and a leg fracture (she currently uses crutches) are her daily fare.
“I need serious medical attention, but Harare City Council Medical Aid is non-functional and we are turned away every time I try to use it.
“My husband’s condition needs medical attention as well and the drugs needed are very expensive such that now I cannot afford to buy them,” she said.
In addition, she pays rates and water bills even though council will not pay her benefits.
Mrs Mukundu says she is owed more than US$40 000 as lump-sum benefit dating to July 2013, and has also not been paid the US$150 monthly pension since that time.
According to the Labour Act, upon retirement a worker is supposed to get a lump sum of one third of the commutation factor.
Depending on the employee’s grade, the lump sum is between US$30 000 and US$40 000. Upon payment of the lump sum, monthly pensions of between US$150 and US$200 are to be paid.
Another pensioner, who preferred anonymity, blames council for mismanaging funds and being insensitive.
Municipal workers and their beneficiaries seeking treatment are forced to pay cash upfront as their medical aid has become increasingly worthless.
Despite subscriptions being deducted from salaries every month, it has emerged that the Harare City Council is not remitting the money to the Local Authority Pension Fund (LAPF).
Harare Metropolitan Pensioner Association administrator Mr Kenneth Mutesva says, “We have more than 5 000 members under us and, honestly speaking, these people have been suffering as they are not able to access the money that belongs to them. Some of them are sick while some are no longer able to pay rates and bills.
“Some of these pensioners have died after succumbing to stress and blood pressure from financial pressures. We have so many cases of people who come as far as Buhera in the hope that they will access their money but to no avail.”
As of March 31 this year, the City of Harare owed LAPF US$38,11 million, while Harare Water – which is administratively a seperate entity – owed US$9,63 million.
Harare City Council officials referred all questions related to this to LAPF, whose cheif executive officer Mr Charles Mandizvidza conceded, “The backlog in the payment of monthly pensions is a result of a haemorrhaging liquidity crunch in the fund emanating from non-remittance of monthly pension contributions by member local authorities.
“The fund has been engaging member local authorities urging them to comply with pension’s legislation which requires employers to remit pension contributions by the 14th day of the month following that in which the deduction was made.
“Because of financial challenges being encountered by local authorities, the engagement strategy as yielded very limited success.”
