11,000 Retired Teachers to Receive Penson 27 Years Later
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u assured teachers and legislators on Wednesday that the government is nearing the finish line in terms of settling debts owed to approximately 11,000 retired teachers who have not been paid their pensions after 27 years.
The Treasury Cabinet Secretary told Members of Parliament that although the government released Ksh16 billion in May to resolve unpaid teachers’ pensions dating back to 1997, the funds were insufficient to cover all claims.
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According to Prof. Ndung’u, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has reported a total of 23,267 revised claims to the National Treasury since 1997, and they have processed 22,317 of them.
On the timeline for the Treasury to remit the pending balances, the CS said that it will depend on the availability of resources.
The payment of claims is a contentious issue that is presently the subject of a pending legal proceeding. In addition, the fact that some of the retired teachers have already passed away complicates the case.
Due to the government’s failure to pay their salaries, a subset of teachers are living in abject destitution.
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During the session, CS Ndung’u stated, “I’ve been in this position for ten months, and I agree with the urgency of the matter.”
However, legislators raised concerns regarding the Ksh 16 billion transfer, querying whether it includes all pension payments or specifically addresses the pensions of previously excluded retirees.
The retired teachers had fought a lengthy legal battle, finally securing their pensions in 2008, but subsequent disbursements only began arriving this year, leaving some teachers still unpaid.
As a result, the cabinet has pledged to settle all outstanding payments owed to teachers.
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Notably, teachers who retired after July 2003 are not eligible for these benefits, as they had already received salary increases as part of the 1997 salary adjustment.
Originally, the retirees were to receive their payments in five phases, with the concluding phase ending in 2001.
However, only the first phase was implemented, coinciding with the year when the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the government reached a payment agreement.
Akelo Misori, the Secretary-General of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education, has called on members of Parliament to apply pressure on the Treasury to guarantee the disbursement of these payments.
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11,000 Retired Teachers to Receive Penson 27 Years Later