Pyrethrum firm retirees demand Sh2.5b pension
By George.Kebaso, May 12, 2023More than 300 former employees of Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) have appealed to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi to help them get their Sh2.5 billion pension dues.
The pensioners said they have not received their pensions for the past thirteen years.
Speaking in Nakuru, the pensioners’ spokesperson, Harun Tinga, urged the CS to address the issue, adding, “Most of us are in our sunset years and might die before we are paid our dues, while others are ailing and are unable to pay hospital bills.
The distraught pensioners are demanding the sale of 13 non-core assets spread across Nakuru City to settle their pending dues.
Last year, the successor to PBK, the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK) Board, announced that it had written to the National Treasury seeking permission to sell houses and land in prime areas of Nakuru City to clear the pensioners’ dues.
Implementation process
Tinga said the issue is now before Cabinet and urged Linturi to fast-track the implementation process.
“Pensioners want a proper valuation of the assets, which were undervalued by government valuers. Some houses in Nakuru City are worth Sh800 million, but the government valuers want them to be sold at about Sh300 million,” stated Tinga.
The Pyrethrum Board of Kenya Staff Superannuation Scheme was established in 1991 as a defined benefit scheme with each member contributing five per cent of their salaries while the employer contributed 15 per cent.
This money was to be invested over a period of time, and after the contributors attained the mandatory retirement age, they were supposed to be paid in a lump sum. Pension regulations state that in case of retrenchment, the employee is supposed to enjoy full benefits, and in case of death, their families will claim the benefits.