...Over unpaid retirement benefit

Information reaching Today indicates that, health veterans at the 37 Military Hospital are furious with the Mills administration and are gearing up for a showdown over their unpaid retirement benefits, which have accrued over the last five months.

Numbering about 95, the veterans have resolved to use every available opportunity to press upon government to remit to them their due.

The retired health soldiers are up in arms following the inability of the government to pay them their remittances, especially during the Christmas and New Year festivities, nevertheless Today investigations revealed that the soldiers have not received a penny of their retirement benefit since November 2011.

Most of them, this paper also learnt, are living off the benevolence of family members and on the benevolence of the general public.

The situation, the paper understands, has brought untold hardships to the retired army officers, many of whom are nursing a second thought on whether to recommend doing a patriotic job to their grandchildren.

According to men and women, as far back as last year their superiors assured them that all their outstanding salary arrears were paid in full by the end of

December 2011, but till date nothing tangible has happened along that line. “The Forces Pay Office assured us that by the end of December 2011 we will receive all our salary arrears, but… we have not received anything to that effect,” said one ex-serviceman.

“We are in 2012, so when are we going to be paid?” wanted one of them who spoke to this reporter.

It would be recalled that Today, in its 5th October 2011edition, reported that some retired soldiers were angry over their unpaid retirement benefits and have threatened to go on a demonstration to press home their demand.

That report seems to have pushed national administration to pay up the benefits of many of the retired soldiers leaving a number of 95 of the personnel who are yet to be paid their accrued monies.

Today further discovered that what is spurring the retired soldiers on the more is that many of them were compulsorily retired in 2010.

Some of them who spoke to Today on condition of anonymity expressed disappointment at the way the Mills administration has handled payment of their salary arrears.

They contended that the administration does not give two hoots about their well-being.

“We were about 1,630 who were retired, and 1,535 had received their salaries. [We] in the health sector [are yet to] receive a penny of it,” said one of them.

According to the ex-servicemen, they are faced with the harsh realities of having to borrow money on a daily basis to fend for their families. Their predicament, according to some of the ex-military men, has pushed many of their benefactors to question the need to serve one’s nation.

According to others, their wards have simply dropped out of school, because of their inability to pay their fees.

Some claim they were put on the Single Spine Salary Structure before their compulsory retirement, and hence are entitled to certain allowances under the scheme, but they are yet to receive anything.

They have therefore appealed to national administration to speed up the payment of their monies save them and their families from starvation.**