‘DON’T GIVE OWING COMPANIES PSPF LOANS’

MBABANE – Pensioners under the Mbabane Branch have recommended that companies and government parastatals which owed PSPF since last year should not be granted any loans until they settled the outstanding ones.

PSPF is the Public Service Pension Fund. The pensioners made the recommendation during their monthly meeting held at the Mbabane Library yesterday.
The senior citizens took the resolution after Vice Secretary Sibongile Mazibuko shared a statement which showed that the fund issued 14 loans to different companies last year. 

Library

Mazibuko told the pensioners who filled the library that the fund had released 17 loans this year.
“It is disheartening that some of the companies which have received loans this year have not returned last year’s loans. This is why our fund is running short of money,” she said. In a nutshell, Mazibuko told the pensioners that the fund was owed approximately E1.6 billion by government. She made an example of how Eswatini Revenue Authority, which is responsible for the collection of taxes, borrowed E432 million last year. She told the senior citizens that the same company borrowed E625 million from the fund. 

“Tibiyo TakaNgwane borrowed E355 million while Eswatini National Housing Board borrowed E554 million last year. The Housing Board also borrowed E633 million this year,” she claimed to the amazement of the pensioners.

 She reiterated that some companies did not service their loans, resulting in the collapse of the fund.
She further told the pensioners that there was no clear criterion on how the companies qualified for the loans, which were referred to as investments which was why some ended up defaulting. 
The vice secretary told the pensioners that they had earlier resolved that the fund should suspend loans pending the finalisation of court cases.

Citizens

She stated that the pensioners took government to court demanding that the PSPF should be given back to the senior citizens. “The matter delayed until our Defence Counsel Mandla Mkhwanazi died. The fund was taken away from us and it is now in government’s hands.

You cannot do anything about the fund,” interjected one of the pensioners from the gallery. Another pensioner said: “Our time has come to defend what belongs to us.” The pensioners said it was a pity that some of the members were paid less than E1 000 while some individuals who looked after their fund were paid about E118 000 monthly.
The pensioners seemingly had many questions than answers after Mazibuko’s submissions.

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