Malawians who worked in Zimbabwe mines to get pension

The Zimbabwean Mining Industry Pension Fund (MIPF) last week announced the resumption of its exercise of paying pensions to Malawians who worked in the mining industry in Zimbabwe.

The announcement, made at the Zimbabwean High Commission in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, came at a conclusion of the MIPF tour of Malawi to identify pensioners who worked in the mining sector in Zimbabwe after 1982.

Zimbabwean High Commissioner Thandiwe Dumbushena said the development shows the respect her government has for the expertise and labour pensioners offered to Zimbabwe.

MIPF spokesperson Tulane Ndlovu said his organisation has identified 677 pensioners so far.

“We have been to 11 districts, we have identified 497 pensioners out of the 677, the rest of that number is deceased. We will be paying out sums ranging from $55 to $800 depending on the number of years the pensioners served and the position they held.

“There is also a funeral assistance arrangement where an amount of $ 1 000 will be paid upon the death of the pensioner,” said Ndlovu.

The fund, however, said some pensioners have no national identification papers to validate their claims and in cases where the pensioners have passed on, there are no death certificates to prove that fact.

The payment of pensions stalled in the early 2000s owing to the economic hurdles that rocked Zimbabwe. The fund was set up to service the white minority in Zimbabwe and only started servicing blacks after Zimbabwe got independent in 1982.

Those who qualify for the pensions are put on the fund’s payroll to be paid every month for the rest of their lives.