Govt makes effort to pay Malawi pensioners

The Zimbabwe Mining Industry Pension Fund (ZMIPF) is spearheading the project on behalf of the government.

ZMIPF pensions manager Mr Daniel Sithole told New Ziana that officials from the organisation visited Malawi last week to evaluate the number of pensioners owed by the Zimbabwean government.

He said the ZMIPF was still collating data and a detailed report of how many pensioners were to be paid would be out soon.

“The team we sent there arrived back over the weekend so we are still collating the information,” he said.

Zimbabwean ambassador to Malawi Thandiwe Dumbutshena was last week quoted saying the country stood ready to remit pensions to former mine workers from Malawi.

“In recognition of the industriousness of Malawians and the role they played in the economic growth of Zimbabwe, we are committed to paying their pensions,” she said.

Dumbutshena said millions of Malawians had contributed to the economic growth of Zimbabwe in various ways, mostly in mining.

At some point there were over three million Malawians living and working in Zimbabwe.

This was because during the era of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Malawi was used as a source of labour for mines and farms in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Some Malawians have since made permanent homes in Zimbabwe while others went back to their country of origin.— New Ziana.