Ex-servicemen decry pension disparities
Veteran Ex-service League of Malawi (Velom) has asked President Peter Mutharika to intervene in narrowing the pension gap between the old and newer ex-servicemen.
Velom chairperson the Reverend Fr Martin Mthumba said this when he met Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe yesterday.
He said: “We request your intervention to revisit the pension in order to narrow this gap. We are also appealing to all for your support towards Velom.”
Demonstrating how wide the pay gap is, Mthumba said a corporal who retired in 1995 may receive a monthly pension of K6 000 while one who retired in 2017 receives K136 000.
Mthumba and other Velom members were at Kamuzu Palace for the launch of Poppy Appeal Week where the President was expected to buy the first poppy flower.
In his remarks Mutharika acknowledged that there is need to recognise the selfless contribution that was rendered to the nation by the old soldiers.
He said: “They put the interests of the nation before their own. This country is full of politics of destruction because many people put their interests before the nation.”
Mutharika then bought the first poppy at K1 million.
The world has been using the poppy to remember World War fallen heroes.
Poppy Week is commemorated annually during which people make monetory contributions towards the care of ex-service men in return for a poppy. n
