Stop! We don’t serve the aged after lunch time

In one public office in Nairobi, you will not be served if you go there after 1pm.

Elderly women waiting to be registered for funds. The elderly and orphans have been given Sh7.4 billion, up from Sh4.9 billion in the Budget, as the Jubilee administration strengthens social welfare. FILE 

In Summary

• On Wednesday, we again visited to the office this time alongside Mzee Irea Irura, who hails from Isiolo, at 2.40pm. Two guards at the entrance would hear none of his pleas to get the service he desperately needed.
• On Thursday at 3pm, we managed to escape the guards’ cordon and made it to the first floor office that serves as the reception for pensioners. All offices were open, with a few staff going about their business, but there were no clients.
• Mr Michael Obonyo, the public relations officer of the Pensions Department, said the early closure of business to the public is to ensure the back-office operations of the department are finished in a day.“We serve them when they come, but we need time to deal with whatever issues they have,” he said.

By ELVIS ONDIEKI
More by this Author

In one public office in Nairobi, you will not be served if you go there after 1pm.

Business at the Pensions Department at Bima House closes to the public at lunch hour every day.

The department that is under the Treasury ministry occupies the first through sixth floors of Bima House and deals mainly in processing payments for retired citizens.
Go there after 1pm and guards at the entrance will not let you into the department’s offices.

The Sunday Nation team visited the building on Harambee Avenue at 3pm on Tuesday. A guard said it was too late.
“You are late. Business here closes at 1pm. Come back tomorrow.”

On Wednesday, we again visited to the office this time alongside Mzee Irea Irura, who hails from Isiolo, at 2.40pm. Two guards at the entrance would hear none of his pleas to get the service he desperately needed.

Interestingly, Mr Irura said he had been there earlier, at around 1pm and had been turned away.

“I reached here late because of traffic jam. It was about 12.45 pm when I landed in town, hoping I would get information on the status of the release of my pension,” he told Sunday Nation.

“When I reached the office a few minutes to 1, I was told at the gate that I am late and that I should return at 2. Upon return, I was told the offices have been closed and that I should return tomorrow.”
The 62-year-old retired clerk had to spend the night at a relative’s home in Kabete in order fo reach the office early on Thursday.

“We are suffering as pensioners by the short working time of the officers,” said an exasperated Mr Irura.

“The services weren’t as bad in 2002 when I retired; they got worse with time.”

ESCAPE GUARD'S CORDON

On Thursday at 3pm, we managed to escape the guards’ cordon and made it to the first floor office that serves as the reception for pensioners. All offices were open, with a few staff going about their business, but there were no clients.

According to Mr Abel Odhiambo, the national chairman of the Kenya Retired Persons Savings and Credit Co-Operative Society, the practice of closing business at 1pm began in 2008.

“The reason for stopping the pensioners from entering the pensions department after 1 pm in 2008 was to enable the department to install new computers,” he said.

“However, even after the installations were complete, the trend went on.”

Mr Odhiambo showed us a letter he wrote in 2010 questioning the early closure of the offices.

In the letter he said: “Two years after the installation of those machines, the department is still closed in the afternoons and this is inconveniencing a lot the pensioners (sic) who travel from upcountry and who don’t have any accommodation in Nairobi.” Mr Odhiambo told Sunday Nation that he never got a response.

Mr Michael Obonyo, the public relations officer of the Pensions Department, said the early closure of business to the public is to ensure the back-office operations of the department are finished in a day.
“We serve them when they come, but we need time to deal with whatever issues they have,” he said.

“For those who have normal enquiries, they can visit Huduma Centres throughout the country. Besides, they can make enquiries by phone or even via email.”

Asked why there was no notice to inform the public about the working hours, Mr Obonyo said “most of the pensioners are aware that we do not work past lunch hour”.

“I am aware the guards turn away most of the clients. The guards are aware about our operating time. They are the ones who man the entry point to the building,” he said