GOVT’S E1.5M PER MONTH FOR ELDERLY FUNERAL COVER

MBABANE – Government has budgeted E20 per month towards funeral cover for each elderly person in the country, starting from the next financial year.

Eswatini has around 75 489 registered elderly in the system.  This means in total government will part with E1 509 780 towards the funeral cover per month. In an interview yesterday, Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg confirmed the proposed budget towards the funeral cover for the elderly. Rijkenberg had been asked about the current status of the funeral cover for the elderly. He was also asked how much each elderly will be covered for in the event he/she passed on.  The minister stated that for now, government was not sure exactly how much will each elderly person be covered for. He stated that the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office would issue a tender for funeral service providers to show interest in providing this service. He said the tendering process would reveal how much each elderly would be covered for.

Budget

He mentioned that the budget was ready and was within the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office budget. Rijkenberg said the DPMO was aware of everything as they were leading the process.
Principal Secretary in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) Makhosini Mndawe was interviewed prior. However, he referred all questions to the Minister of Finance, stating that he (finance minister) would be in a better position to clarify whatever needed to be explained. Mndawe stated that all he could say was that the funeral cover for the elderly was anticipated in the next financial year. Currently, some elderly pay for funeral cover from their own pocket. It should also be noted that some of the elderly purely rely on their grants to cater for the funeral cover. 15 000 of the elderly who are paid electronically receive E500 grant per month. The rest are paid after three months meaning they receive E1 500.   

Government has considered the inclusion of the funeral cover for the elderly after His Majesty King Mswati III mentioned during the Official Opening of the Fourth Session of the 11th Parliament that the elderly people should be well catered for. The King mentioned areas of grants and social services as well as funeral cover.  “The elderly should get a dignified departure on earth. This will come for free from government starting from the next financial year,” the King was quoted saying.

Costly

Sigodlo Lukhele, a 78-year-old elderly of Maphalaleni, said the initiation of free funeral cover by government was a positive move if the mandate would be fulfilled. Lukhele said experience had taught them that burial was costly even to those who were not elderly. “When an elderly gets a sponsor to build him/her a house, you always ask yourself what will happen when they  die if they could not even afford to build a house,” Lukhele said.

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