Former opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has claimed civil servants and workers’ dignity has been stripped away after years of toil due to poor retirement packages which have forced them into poverty after a lifetime of dedication.
Posting on X on Wednesday, Chamisa painted a picture of despair saying the US$30 monthly pensions given to former public workers is shrinking to US$22 after bank charges.
He added that the amount is barely enough for medication for chronic illnesses that plague many retirees.
“Pensioners retiring into poverty. I was recently talking to a retired citizen about his pension,” Chamisa said.
“After working for more than 40 years, and several of those years as a headmaster, his lump sum pension payment is not enough to buy a Honda Fit from Victor.
“I’m told this is the story for most of our civil servants and workers in general.
“Just imagine that pensioners receive $30 per month from NSSA (National Social Security Authority). After bank charges the payout is a paltry US$22. This is an atrocity- pure savagery.
“This amount is hardly enough to pay for a month’s supply of diabetes or BP meds. And these are chronic conditions most senior citizens are living with.”
Chamisa said answers and actions are demanded, a plea for a future where retirement doesn’t mean despair.
“This is the tragedy of broken politics and the current economic collapse. This, we must and will fix urgently. Pensioners must not be paupers! Our workers must have their dignity,” he added.
Years of economic mismanagement have taken their toll in Zimbabwe. The skyrocketing inflation and financial crisis have eroded people’s earnings.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week said his government was contemplating introducing a “structured currency” to resolve the financial problems facing the country.
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