Good news for Kenyan teachers as Treasury edges closer to settling pension dues

Retired teachers follow proceedings at a Nakuru court in May. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the Government has started the process of identifying the retirees it owes about Sh42 billion in back salaries and pension benefits. [PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/STANDARD]

Thousands of retired teachers may finally get their pension benefits this year.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, however, said the exact number of retirees who have not been paid is not known, but the Government has started the process of identifying beneficiaries.

“We have the funds in the Budget, but we do not know how many people are involved,” the CS said yesterday.

Mr Rotich’s assurance is a significant breakthrough for the retirees after a near two-decade wait.

An estimated 52,000 retired teachers are collectively owed about Sh42 billion by the Government in back salaries and pension benefits.

New calculation

The CS added that there would be need to revise calculations to determine how much each beneficiary is owed.

“I do not know yet how much in salaries and benefits each of them is owed, but we are talking about big amounts here,” he said.

It is likely that the payments will be staggered over time, considering the State might not be able to afford to settle the entire amount at once.

The money was granted to the retirees in February after a lengthy legal suit where the teachers successfully sued the State relating to a past salary review they did not benefit from.

Already, some of the retirees have been asked to lodge their applications at their last working stations to edge closer to the impending settlements.

It is the latest step to the payment after recent promises went unfulfilled. Rotich had in March announced that he had set aside Sh8 billion for a part settlement. At the time, the CS was tabling a revised Budget for the financial year that ended last Friday.

In the plans, the retired teachers were to be paid a portion of their dues before July 1, a promise that did not come through.

The retirees had petitioned the State over a 1997 agreement entered between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Government.

In the first suit filed in 2006, Justice David Maraga ruled two years later that the teachers were entitled to their retirement benefits calculated using the higher salaries following the pay rise from the 1997 pact.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) would, however, appeal the ruling in a series of suits that saw the matter taken to the Supreme Court where a final decision was taken last December.

Internship programme

Rotich was speaking after hosting World Bank officials at a meeting to sign for Sh36 billion in loans and grants to support local projects.

Of the total amount, Sh15 billion is a grant to support the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Project. About 280,000 youths aged between 18 and 29 are expected to benefit from the second phase of the World Bank-funded internship programme.

World Bank Country Director Diarietou Gaye said the grant would fund the five-year programme projected to enhance the skills of young, unemployed university graduates by preparing them for the job market or to run their own businesses.

“The project will also support young entrepreneurs whose business ideas have high potential to foster job creation and improve labour market information,” said Ms Gaye.

Another Sh19 billion will be spent on the Transforming Health Systems for Universal Health Care Project.