Windhoek
Swapo Party Elders Council (SPEC) has resolved to implore the Government Institute Pension Fund (GIPF) to cut out all unnecessary red tape when paying out pension funds to retired government employees who have reached the age of 60 years, which includes a one-third lump sum and monthly instalments.
The elders further resolved at the last SPEC central committee meeting that these monthly instalments be exempted from taxation. SPEC “noted with serious concern that after retirement from government services, GIPF takes unnecessarily long to pay out the retirement benefit, a one-third lump sum,” said SPEC secretary Mukwaita Shanyengana in a statement.
“And worse still, the remaining two-thirds monthly pension instalments are heavily taxed.” Shanyengana stressed that this results in an abrupt reduction of the living standard of retired civil servants and consequently makes pensioners destitute at a time that they deserve to benefit from their pension payouts.
Also, the SPEC central committee noted that municipal water and electricity levies are generally exorbitant and represent “cut-throat expenses” for unemployed people, including the elderly.
“Many elderly people have used their finite retirement pension to pay up balances on their homes, yet they still continue being subjected to municipal assessment rates and taxes,” he said.
“The meeting resolved that all senior citizens be exempted from all taxes and be issued with special cards for access to all basic public services. The meeting thanked the governor and municipality of //Karas, who are already doing it.”
The elders also resolved that SPEC membership cards should be issued only to applicants who are already members of the Swapo Party.