For
many journalists who gathered to hear public protector Thuli Madonsela
give an update on several of her investigations on Wednesday, the fact
that her report into the legality of the state-funded upgrades at
President Jacob Zuma's personal home at Nkandla was 90% complete, was
news enough.
But for 60-year-old Ntombizondidi Mdaka, it was the end of a 10-year battle to get the government to pay out her pension for her 17 years of service as a primary school teacher.
Following the public protector's investigation and subsequent report, Mdaka can now expect a written apology from the Eastern Cape's education department, and pension back pay with interest. The total amount is yet to be calculated.
She was employed as a primary school teacher in the former Transkei in 1973 and was transferred to a school in the Northern Cape in 1990. She was medically bordered in 2002 because of a heart condition.
She received pension benefits for 12 years during which she was employed in the Northern Cape, but none for the 17 years prior to that.
In early 2008, a group of teachers from the former Transkei met with the Eastern Cape's education minister regarding their non-payment of pensions. In March, the provincial minister wrote to the district directors in his department, instructing them to investigate the individual cases.
"The individual cases were never investigated and the complainant's matter was never resolved," Madonsela's report noted.
No records
The Government Pension Administration Agency (GPAA), in its correspondence with Madonsela's office, said its records indicated that there were two periods in the 1970s where Mdaka's pension was paid out. But it conceded that, in line with legislation at the time, the money was paid to her employer, and there was no record that Mdaka ever received the money.
In 2010, the GPAA received a revised pension application form stating Mdaka's period of service, with proof of her periods of employment attached. But Madonsela found that the agency never recalculated the amount owed to Mdaka.
In August of that year, the public protector asked the public administration department to intervene in Mdaka's case. It never responded to that letter.
In finalising its provisional report, the public protector's office gave each of the government agencies, officials and politicians implicated in it an opportunity to respond. They had not done so by the end of January this year.
Madonsela's report noted that this pension fund is made up of the salaries of state employees.
"For many employees, this will be the sole source of income once they retire, and the trustees therefore have to act responsibly when it comes to the payment of contributions into the fund," she said.
But for 60-year-old Ntombizondidi Mdaka, it was the end of a 10-year battle to get the government to pay out her pension for her 17 years of service as a primary school teacher.
Following the public protector's investigation and subsequent report, Mdaka can now expect a written apology from the Eastern Cape's education department, and pension back pay with interest. The total amount is yet to be calculated.
She was employed as a primary school teacher in the former Transkei in 1973 and was transferred to a school in the Northern Cape in 1990. She was medically bordered in 2002 because of a heart condition.
She received pension benefits for 12 years during which she was employed in the Northern Cape, but none for the 17 years prior to that.
In early 2008, a group of teachers from the former Transkei met with the Eastern Cape's education minister regarding their non-payment of pensions. In March, the provincial minister wrote to the district directors in his department, instructing them to investigate the individual cases.
"The individual cases were never investigated and the complainant's matter was never resolved," Madonsela's report noted.
No records
The Government Pension Administration Agency (GPAA), in its correspondence with Madonsela's office, said its records indicated that there were two periods in the 1970s where Mdaka's pension was paid out. But it conceded that, in line with legislation at the time, the money was paid to her employer, and there was no record that Mdaka ever received the money.
In 2010, the GPAA received a revised pension application form stating Mdaka's period of service, with proof of her periods of employment attached. But Madonsela found that the agency never recalculated the amount owed to Mdaka.
In August of that year, the public protector asked the public administration department to intervene in Mdaka's case. It never responded to that letter.
In finalising its provisional report, the public protector's office gave each of the government agencies, officials and politicians implicated in it an opportunity to respond. They had not done so by the end of January this year.
Madonsela's report noted that this pension fund is made up of the salaries of state employees.
"For many employees, this will be the sole source of income once they retire, and the trustees therefore have to act responsibly when it comes to the payment of contributions into the fund," she said.
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