STATE APPEALS ON WITHHOLDING OF PENSION

MBABANE – The State is appealing the judgment which declared as unconstitutional, the law that empowers it to withhold pension for civil servants or public officers who had been found on the wrong side of the law.

Through the office of the attorney general, the State has since filed a notice of appeal challenging the decision of the full bench of the High Court.
Usually, the State would approach the courts for an order to withhold pension for civil servants who had been dismissed for misappropriation of funds. Most of the culprits were school head teachers and officers from the law enforcement agencies.

The full bench of the High Court found that Section 32(2) of the Retirement Fund, which permitted such attachment, was inconsistent with Section 195 (6) of the Constitution, and therefore was invalid.

Unconstitutional

The section which the court has since declared unconstitutional stipulated as follows: “A retirement fund may deduct an amount from a member’s benefit in respect of; (a) an amount representing the loss suffered by the employer due to any unlawful activity of the member, and for which judgment has been obtained against the member in a court or a written acknowledgment of culpability has been signed by the member and provided that the aforesaid written acknowledgment is witnessed by the member and who had no less than eight years of formal education, (b) an amount for which the employee is liable under a guarantee issue by the employer for purposes of obtaining a housing loan; provided that an original notarised document exists, which confirms that the guarantee was made.”
The full bench which decided the matter consisted of Justices Mbutfo Mamba, Mumcy Dlamini and Sipho Nkosi.  

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