Retired soldiers' pension windfall raises more questions

In the weekend rallies of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), President Mokgweetsi Masisi boasted about how his government set aside P1, 5billion to rectify the mistake that inconvenienced former soldiers of Botswana Defense Force (BDF).Masisi revealed that he was aggrieved by the situation that many retired soldiers find themselves in, hence his government decided to find a political solution to the issue. Speaking at the BDP star rally in Palapye, President Masisi said that as the head of state, he asked for forgiveness for the errors the government subjected its former soldiers to, even though they had relentlessly fought to protect the nation.According to Masisi, the biggest error the government made was miscalculating their pensions. Therefore, the government has released P1.5 billion to rectify the mistake. Furthermore, he explained that soon the retired soldiers will receive their money in full, including back pay arrears.However, various sources within the military circles have come forward to raise their complaints about President Masisi’s apology.According to a source within the A Re Itshekeng Social Club, prior to President Masisi’s announcement of the big P1.5billion apology, the Minister of Defence and Security Kagiso Mmusi called various bodies of retired soldiers and told them about government’s decision. He revealed that they asked Minister Mmusi about the formula that the government used to reach the P1.5 billion and how many retired soldiers were to benefit at how much per individuals, but that the minister has yet to get back to them on the issue. The source indicated that they appealed to the minister several times through writing but they have not received any response.Moreover, he described the current situation as a thorn in their flesh and they are pleading for the use of their old pension scheme that is in the BDF Act, explaining that in that way, they can easily calculate properly how much they will receive. The disgruntled retired BDF soldiers are contemplating enlisting the services of an Actuary so that they can understand the risks they have through the current government model which they say is hiding behind a veil of secrecy.Another former BDF soldier who wished to remain anonymous said that they went to the ministry offices and signed documents and handed over copies of their IDs and banking details but to their surprise, they were not informed anything else after that. There is talk that the pensions will be paid with denominator 350 instead of 450, however they do not understand what that means. He indicated that they were once in what was called Undefined Pension Scheme and were transferred to Alexander Forbes, then to BPOPF, all without any explanation.The biggest question they have is whether they can trust a formula they do not know about, and whether they will be able to question the formula should they feel that it is not justified. The source further said that after they are paid their monies, they will have no way of telling whether it is what they deserved or not. The Ministry of Defense and Security had not responded to questions sent to them on the matter, at the time of going to press.

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Retired soldiers' pension windfall raises more questions