“We have not received a single cent of the USD 75 covid allowance” Some civil servants speak out

Some civil servants are crying foul after failing to receive the promised USD 75 covid 19 allowance. Sources that spoke to this publication confirmed that there seems to be inconsistencies at the paymaster’s office, the SSB which are causing a delay in the deposition of their funds. While some civil servants are already enjoying their third instalment of the allowance, others have not received a single cent.

One civil servant who spoke on the basis of anonymity said her funds were being sent to a normal rtgs account hence the money was bouncing back to the SSB. Upon visiting the paymaster’s office to make inquiries she was told to fill a method of pay advice form and promised that her funds would be deposited into the correct Nostro account. She has been waiting for weeks for that one transaction. She said that she is at pains to get the allowance which she was banking on to assist in buying some basic things since she is heavily pregnant.

This is common to many civil servants who are failing to get the money. It seems lack of liason between the paymaster and banks is also causing unnecessary delays. Another critical issue is that there is only skeletal staff at the paymaster’s office. Processing of paperwork is therefore moving at a snail’s pace much to the grief of thousands of civil servants.

An announcement was made in June that all civil servants would receive an allowance of USD 75. The announcement was met with a lot of excitement. Then a bombshell was dropped. It could only be accessed through banks through Nostro accounts and not as hard cash. The general practice is that banks are not giving out USD in cash but they are rather converting it into rtgs dollars and giving out local currency.