50% HIKE IN ENPF FUNERAL BENEFIT GETS NOD

LOBAMBA – Senators have approved a 50 per cent increase in funeral cover for members of the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF).

The Funeral Benefit Regulations were submitted to senators by Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi yesterday. In the new schedule of fees, a member who dies from an illness will be entitled to E7 500, an increase of E2 500 from the initial E5 000 benefit.

Meanwhile, a member who dies suddenly, such as in an accident, will now be entitled to E15 000, which reflects an increase of E5 000 from the initial E10 000. The new regulations come into effect on January 1, 2023. Senators said the increase of the funeral cover was a step in the right direction, given the ever hiking funeral costs.

Commended

Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini commended the minister for the new regulations, saying it would go a long way in assisting emaSwati in the advent of diseases such as COVID-19. “In this time and age, there is scarcity of employment opportunities. Such gestures will go a long way in appeasing the financially bruised nation,” she said.
Dlamini urged the minister to consider increasing the benefit amount again at a later stage.

Senate Deputy President Ndumiso Mdluli also said the development was praiseworthy, in that it would meet emaSwati halfway in funeral costs. The motion to approve the new regulations had been made by Senator Prince Mphatfwa.

Minister Buthelezi had then convened a workshop to enlighten the senators. Senator Moi Moi Masilela questioned the disparities between a member who died from an accident or one who died from an illness, saying ‘there is one death’. To this, the minister said it was the norm of funeral benefit schemes to separate the two causes of death.

Accident

“We know that for one who is sick, there is usually time to make preparations, yet death through an accident means everything must stop and there must be a funeral the following week. “Batsi leyondzile ayitfotelwa (never prepare for the funeral of a sick person), but we all know there is time to prepare for such a funeral than a sudden death,” the minister said.

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