Zimbabwe pensioners to get express cash

Zimbabwe pensioners to get express cash
Published: 06 October 2019
THE Government is working with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and banks to ensure that pensioners access cash for their pension payouts.

The country has been experiencing cash shortages that have seen members of the public literally camping at banking institutions who are failing to satisfy their clients. The hardest hit, however, are pensioners, with some now being forced to sleep on bank pavements for more than a night in anticipation of cash.

Minister of Public Service, Labour  and Social Welfare Dr Sekai Nzenza told Sunday News yesterday that she was aware of the plight of pensioners and was now engaging the RBZ at technical level to ensure that pensioners access their money.

"We are reviewing the current method of payment and are already in conversation with banks at technical level to find a better way for pensioners to access money. We have to speak with the RBZ governor (Dr John Mangudya) and Treasury for that to happen."

Her comments comes after a group of pensioners last week stormed into a CABS banking hall in Bulawayo demanding to see the manager after they spent two nights sleeping outside the building with the hope of getting cash.

One of the pensioners, Mrs Nodumo Sibanda, said some of them had travelled from rural areas and had no money to board buses back to their homes.

"We came here on Wednesday and we have been sleeping at the bank since we do not have relatives in town, it's really unbearable for us to be sleeping in the cold without eating since fast foods are now expensive. We have not bathed for two days and we were hoping that today we would get the money and go back to our rural homes but we have been informed that there is no money. This is a huge challenge because we cannot go back without cash since we cannot use swipe to pay for our bus fares," she said.

Another pensioner, Mrs Simangaliso Ncube said she left her two grandchildren who are doing primary school alone in the hope that she will get money and buy groceries for them.

The situation was the same at most banks visited by Sunday News. Although pensioners are the most affected, ordinary people yesterday also said they were feeling shortchanged by the country's banking system for failing to provide enough cash. Some customers at ZB bank had to be removed by security personnel after they allegedly demanded that they will not leave unless they got their money.

This was after they were told soon after the bank opened in the morning that they will not get cash. Some said they had queued since 3am and it was disheartening to be told that there was no money.

Nonetheless, the Government has plans to introduce a new currency but timelines have not been set while RBZ has indicated that it intends to continue printing more bond notes in the short-term to address the cash shortages.

- sundaynews
Tags: Pension,

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