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Govt now starts process to pay pension to 106-year-old man
Mr Dacio Oridria (sitting), reported to be 106 years old, says he has never received his pension. PHOTO/CLEMENT ALUMA
What you need to know:
- Mr Oridria retired from teaching at Ndiria Primary School on March 31, 1996. It is from here that he started following his pension and gratuity having taught in several school, however, he has never received it.
Three months after this publication ran a story about a 106-year-old retired teacher who had spent 28 years without receiving his pension, Arua District officials say they are making good progress to secure it.
Mr Dacio Oridria, now wheelchair-bound, a resident of Onzoro Yaa clan in Milo village, Onjoro Parish, Aiivu Sub-county, Terego District, who had lost hope of getting his pension before meeting his creator, after serving the country as a teacher for 28 years, is optimistic that he would soon smile to the bank.
After the Monitor published the story, the district leadership took up the mantle to make a follow-up on the documents that Mr Dacio tendered in after he retired.
State House officials also made follow up calls to the caretaker of Mr Dacio where a joint effort has been made to retrieve some of the important documents both from the district and the Ministry of Public Service.
Mr Oridria told the Monitor that he retired from civil service in 1996 after working as a head teacher in several schools of greater Arua District.
However, he did not receive his pension and gratuity after submitting all his documents at the time to the line ministry.
The situation was made worse when his only son who was following up the payments also passed on in 2010.
But during a followup interview with the Arua Chief Administrative Officer at the weekend, Mr Nicholas Ogwang, said after reading the story, he did due diligence by first establishing whether Mr Dacio was alive and visited his village in Terego District.
“I summoned my human resource team when we got that story. I tasked them to go on a fact finding mission, to look for that Mzee (old man). Luckily we got in touch with his son in-law who provided us with valuable information,” he said.
Mr Ogwang also revealed that: “We also got some of his documents and pay slips which confirmed he was an employee of the district. We want to make sure that the elderly man gets his pension because there is already proof.”
“What remains is submitting these documents to the district service commission for regularisation. After that, we shall submit it to the Ministry of Public Service for payment. The only challenge we have at the moment is the Commission is not fully constituted,” he added.
“The Monitor has done a good thing [telling the story] of the mzee. We shall make sure he gets what is due for him,” he said.
The district also provided a vehicle to the Auditor General to visit him at home in Terego District during the recent validation exercise of pensioners.
Ms Emily Gutru, the Arua District human resource officer, said they intend to pay Mr Oridria his full pension.
“The Ministry of Public Service responded to our reminder last week and the District Service Commission would soon be fully constituted. And so, hopefully this will soon be done,” she said.
The son-in-law, who has been pursuing the pension for the old man, Mr Simon Bob, told this newspaper that there is hope on the progress made.
“After that story, I received calls from State House department in charge of pensions and they gave us guidelines which have helped us. They actually influenced the decision making at the district and ministry to move faster in processing the payments,” he said.
“We pray that the public service moves faster in instituting the only member of the district service commission who is missing. Mzee will be a happy man if he tests the fruits from his works. We thank Daily Monitor for fighting for the rights of the elderly man,” he added.
