Pensioners start receiving forex payments

It was all smiles for pensioners yesterday after they started receiving their monthly forex portion including the local currency component as the Government continues to cushion retired workers from economic challenges.

The Government has already been making an array of measures to cushion the pensioners by offering them packages including the Special Presidential Bonus and the Covid-19 allowance.

NSSA has indeed lived true to its announcement that pensioners will from this month be paid a portion of their monthly payout in foreign currency as part of Government to cushion them leaving no one and no place behind.

As of yesterday long queues characterised most banks in Harare and Bulawayo including POSB, CABS and NBS as the pensioners were withdrawing their forex portion.

National Social Security Authority spokesperson Tendai Mutseyekwa confirmed that they have started disbursing the forex component.

“We have started giving our pensioners the forex component which is varying, but the minimum pensioner is receiving US$30 plus the usual local currency component,” he said.

A pensioner from Westgate, Mrs Gloria Tande was ecstatic to receive the forex component saying it will go a long way to cater for her basic goods.

“I am glad to be receiving the forex component. It was a challenge to cater for my basic needs including buying groceries. This will go a long way in easing this challenge,” she said.

Another beneficiary from Budiriro 4 was also upbeat about the forex component.

“This is a welcome gesture as most shops and traders are now demanding forex for their goods and services. So, for us to have a portion in forex is a noble idea which we welcome,” he said.

Mrs Gladys Murwira said the forex portion is important to cater for basic monthly needs.

“This is good as it is complementing other cushioning allowances we have been getting as well as the local currency component,” he said.

In Bulawayo our sister paper The Chronicle also observed that long winding queues were the order of the day at the NBS banking hall between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street in the city centre as pensioners waited to collect their money.

For several hours, the pensioners stood in long queues, moving at a slow pace and often characterised by chaotic scenes as some will be trying to jump the queue. Police had to be called to control the queues.

An Econet outlet located at Jason Moyo Street/9th Avenue was also teeming with activity as the elderly made a beeline at the banking hall seeking to access their foreign currency payouts.

Some of the beneficiaries commended the Government for the initiative, saying they were hopeful that the forex component would be enough to cater for the basic goods.

“This is what a listening Government does and we are hopeful that this money will go a long way in addressing our plight in light of the prevailing economic environment where prices of basic commodities and other goods continue to shoot up every week due to the depreciating value of our currency,” said Mr Vulindlela Ndebele of Magwegwe suburb.

Another pensioner, Mrs Margaret Dube said the introduction of the forex component will cushion her as she will be able to buy essential basic commodities.

Despite this not being enough it is plausible that Government has considered that the cost of living is way beyond an average citizen. The prices are skyrocketing and beyond our reach as the elderly and most of us are taking care of our grandchildren whose parents are estranged,” she said.

Mrs Molly Khumalo of Mabuthweni suburb said the money will enable her to buy medication.

“Medication is beyond the reach of many of us. And the greater number of us pensioners are suffering from chronic diseases, which require constant treatment and some of these drugs are expensive and exclusively sold in foreign currency,” she said.

Mrs Khumalo said most informal traders are now demanding forex for their goods and services hence the portion of their payouts in forex would go a long way in addressing their challenges.

She urged Government to create mobile distribution centres close to their residential areas to ease congestion at banking halls in the city centre.

“As it is, we have been in the queue for hours. I arrived here before dawn and I still haven’t been served. The service is slow because of the huge number of pensioners,” she said.

Mr Babesi Cheza from Magwegwe suburb urged service providers to categorise clients.

“We are too old to be wallowing in such queues and we implore Government to address this urgently because we might end up recording casualties from these queues and some of us sleep here,” he said.

In a statement last month, NSSA said the payments will be made through banks or Ecocash.

“NSSA beneficiaries will receive a portion of their monthly pension in US dollars for the month of June 2023. Beneficiaries with Econet lines will have the choice of receiving the USD component through Ecocash, or their usual bank accounts,” read the notice.

NSSA said it is also working towards incorporating other mobile money service providers for the payment modalities.

Last year pensioners petitioned Parliament seeking a review of their monthly payouts, saying they were living in abject poverty due to the rising cost of living, inflation, and depreciating value of their pension in local currency.

Government workers are already benefiting from a host of other non-monetary incentives from the Government including affordable housing schemes.

Last year, civil servants were paid 100 percent of their annual bonus in foreign currency.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavima yesterday said he will engage the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) over queues.

“What I suspect is that banks are facing challenges of cash flows. I will find out from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. I am not in the country at the moment and I have not received a report on what is exactly on the ground,” he said.

“I cannot give an accurate comment on the issue at present, but as soon as I am back I will definitely find out what the problem is,” added the minister.

-Herald-