RELIEF FOR CIVIL SERVANTS AS LOANS CONTRACT RENEWED

MANZINI – Civil servants should heave a sigh of relief as government has addressed the issue of non-access to loans from credit providers.

This follows that government had recently not renewed its contract with credit providers, which prevented all civil servants from accessing loans. The delayed renewal of the contract lasted for two days, beginning from March 1, 2022. orth noting is that the challenge of accessing loans for civil servants had only applied to credit providers and not banks. According to a member of the His Majesty’s Correctional Services, he had a financial challenge which compelled him to apply for a loan at First Finance on Monday. The civil servant shared that he had a long and short-term loan which he had settled.

He disclosed that he was informed that he was eligible for a short-term loan and the specific amount of money. However, due to that he was pressed for time, the government employee narrated that he could not go through the process of getting the loan and returned on the following day (Tuesday). “When I got there, I was told that they could not access civil servants’ systems. They could not get access to my employment number,” he said. The employee added that due to his desperation for money, he decided to opt for another prominent credit provider, where he was told about the similar challenge. To verify this, the employee said he approached another financial services provider, where he was also told that they could not access his employment details. The warder mentioned that he then went to the Public Service Pensions Fund to get his statement, where they required his employment details and identity number. Still, he could not get a loan from the credit providers. The civil servant highlighted that this was a great inconvenience to him as he had an indisposed relative who required to seek medical attention.

He said he was running from pillar to post, in search for the loan to help his sickly relative. In an almost similar case, a teacher who had to pay off her child’s school fees and repair her car which was involved in an accident shared that she needed a quick loan to pay off her debts. The educator highlighted that she was disheartened when she was told that she could not be assisted in accessing a loan in one of the financial institutions as there was a system failure.

She said she could not even perform her duties well because she was stressed. Ministry of Finance Communications Officer Setsabile Dlamini confirmed that there was a challenge in civil servants getting loans from credit providers because government had not renewed their contract. Nonetheless, the communications officer mentioned that they had since renewed the contract yesterday. “We have signed the agreement to renew the contract, it has since been sorted, so it should be up and running as of today,” she said.

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