Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has given approval for screening and onward payment of gratuities to about 2000 workers in the state who retired between January to December 2019.
The Head of Civil Service in the state, Alhaji Idris Usman Tune disclosed this in an interview on Monday.
The last time gratuity was paid to retirees in the state was in 2018 due to paucity of funds. However, the state government said they are working round the clock to see that it commence paying retirees their benefits before the end of the first quarter of 2022..
To that regard, a committee with uniform criteria for screening both state and local government retired workers was set up to carry out the verification exercise after which their entitlement will be handed over to them, Tune said.
According to the Katsina Head of Civil Service, the essence of the verification exercise is to
ensure that anything that will constitute an obstacle or a nuisance after payment of gratuity to the retirees is cleared.
He said: “through the exercise, those that have outstanding loans to pay will be identified and the debt removed from their benefits as well as other sundry petty issues that are likely bounded to a worker that has been in the system for 35 years. So that when they receive their entitlement, they can comfortably use it with their family and loved ones.
Tune also added that the commencement of the exercise will reignite hope in the retirees that they have not been abandoned by the government, but rather working round the clock to see that their entitlements are paid very soon.
“The Government of Katsina State under the leadership of His Excellency, Aminu Bello Masari is very much concerned about the welfare of workers, both those serving and those that have serve meritoriously and are now living a life of retirement. It is the intention of his Excellency (Governor Masari) to ensure that it cleared all outstanding gratuities before his final days in office in 2023 God’s willing”, Tune said.
The Chairman of the verification exercise, Alhaji Umaru Adamu, a former accountant general and director of the pension in the state told Vanguard that as of last week, the committee had already concluded screening for the entire LG workers who retired in 2019 and for state workers who retired between January to June 2019.
The elder statement said the committee will continue this week with screening for the remaining state government workers who retired between July – December 2019 after which they will submit their report and seek approval to commence screening for those who retired in 2020 and so forth.
The retirees commended the screening committee for doing a good job.
However, the wished government can ensure the timely payment of retirees’ benefits to assuage their pains and sufferings.
One of the beneficiaries, Mallam Yusuf, who worked with one of the Local Education Authority in the state said: “We are grateful to God. The screening exercise is going on smoothly and we want to appreciate the state government for that. However, we are hoping that in the future government will find a way to eliminate the long delay experienced in the payment of gratuities to beneficiaries. Some of us have died while waiting many others are suffering from one untold hardship or the other.” – Vanguard.
