6 July 2009
THE Zambia Agency for Persons with Disability (ZAPD) says the Government has released K2.6 billion out of K5.9 billion required to pay the defunct Zambia Council for the Handicapped (ZCH) retirees their terminal benefits.
ZAPD acting director general, Charles Mwape, assured that ZAPD would ensure that the retirees were paid what was due to them, and the exercise will begin today.
Dr Mwape told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka that ZAPD would ensure that eligible retirees were paid because the terminal benefits have long been overdue.
The ZAPD acting director general said the release of the K2.6 billion was an indication that the Government was committed to the welfare of the disabled in Zambia.
Dr Mwape urged the retirees to use their terminal benefits wisely and consider investing the money in things that would bring them income in return.
Dr Mwape was, however, quick to state that not all the retirees would be paid this time, and urged those who would not benefit to remain calm, as the Government would ensure that they got paid soon.
Recently, some defunct ZCH retirees marched to State House to press President Rupiah Banda to intervene in order for the Government to pay them their terminal benefits.
Meanwhile, Dr Mwape has described the registration process of disability organisations with ZAPD as a success.
Dr Mwape urged other disability organisations that have not yet registered with ZAPD to do so, saying it was law that needed to be adhered to.
ZANIS
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
