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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter

GOVERNMENT has granted its pensioners a cost of living adjustment which will be paid with effect from next month and backdated to January.

However, the Government is set to announce the new pension payout figures at a later date.

Last year, public service pensioners were getting between $80 and $235 monthly.

The secretary of the Public Service Commission, Ambassador Jonathan Wutaunashe in a statement issued yesterday said:

“The Public Service Commission notifies Government pensioners that procedures relating to the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all pensioners have been finalised and will be effected in March 2020, backdated to January 2020.”

 The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavhima in an interview yesterday said Government remained committed to the betterment of the living conditions of civil servants and pensioners through continued engagements and reviews. 

“The monetary environment has not been stable. We have to constantly look at the allowances of pensioners as well as the salaries and wages of current civil servants and continuously improve them in light of upward trends in the cost of living,” said the Minister.

Prof Mavhima said Government will continue to ensure that the needs of civil servants were catered for, to ensure a motivated and committed workforce for excellent service delivery. 

He said cost of living adjustment will continue to be provided while other avenues are being sought, to ensure that the welfare of civil servants, both retired and in service were catered for. 

“Motivation of the civil servants is an important variable for service delivery. As such, if we need optimal levels of performance from those in the civil service, we have to keep them motivated, through among other factors, providing constant cost of living adjustments. For pensioners, we have to continue to make their retirement lives bearable through the adjustment of their allowances,” said the minister. 

He said working conditions should always be reviewed as Government productivity is dependent on quality service delivery by a happy worker. The Government move comes after the National Social Security Authority also doubled its pay-outs for pensioners from a minimum of $80 to $200 while the workers compensation scheme has the same figures, effected last year in November. -@andile_tshuma.