One hundred and eleven retired civil servants in Kitgum District are facing uncertainty over their pension payments after it emerged that they have not been verified due to discrepancies in their records. Agnes Apiyo, the Kitgum Human Resource Officer in charge of pensions, said the unverified pensioners have issues, including mismatched names, duplicate Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS) numbers, and some being deceased.
Apiyo revealed that out of 305 names submitted for verification, only 194 have been successfully verified. The remaining 111 pensioners are yet to be cleared due to the noted discrepancies. Mathew Abim Otto, Chairperson of Kitgum Pensioners, said the unverified names were first identified in 2023. He noted that while there were initially 305 unverified names, the number has now reduced to 111. Otto raised concerns that the discrepancies may have been manipulated locally by the Human Resources office in charge of pensions.
“This is a serious issue that needs to be investigated. We suspect that some individuals in the Human Resource office are manipulating pension records for personal gain,” Otto said. He added that this has had a devastating impact on pensioners, with some dying without receiving their pensions, and relatives losing hope in pursuing the matter.
Raymond Ocan, the councillor representing Pandwong Division, expressed frustration at a recent council meeting. “Where are these anomalies coming from? Why is this happening to people who have served the government diligently and should be enjoying the fruits of their hard work?” he asked. Other councillors echoed his concerns, demanding answers on how such discrepancies were allowed to occur.
The issue first surfaced during a full council meeting, when inconsistencies in pensioners’ records were raised, particularly during the migration to the Human Capital Management (HCM) system. This followed the state of the district address by District Chairperson Arwai Christopher Obol. Apiyo said the Human Resource office has been making efforts to trace the unverified pensioners and their relatives, but many remain untraceable, further complicating the verification process and leaving pensioners in limbo.
Otto also called on the government to revise the pension scale for retired civil servants, noting that many receive as little as UGX 110,000 per month, an amount insufficient to meet basic needs. “It’s unacceptable that people who have served the government for decades are struggling to make ends meet. The government should review the pension scale to ensure that it reflects the current standard of living,” he said.
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