Retirees demand action over Sh4 billion Nairobi Water pension arrears
The retirees say more than Sh4 billion in arrears owed to various pension schemes has left hundreds of families in hardship, while management and county authorities continue to delay resolution.
Retirees of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) are sounding the alarm over a crisis that they say has left them struggling for survival.
Dozens of former workers, some weak and unwell, gathered in Nairobi alongside union leaders to demand action after decades of unpaid pension contributions.
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They say more than Sh4 billion in arrears owed to various pension schemes has left hundreds of families in hardship, while management and county authorities continue to delay resolution.
“We are dying. Our people are dying without their pension, we worked with our own hands, we gave our lives to public service, but we are now dying poor,” said Peter Njihia, speaking on behalf of the retirees.
The Water Services Workers Union says Nairobi Water owes Sh2.6 billion to Laptrust, Sh900 million to Lapfund, and Sh500 million to the County Pension Fund. Union officials describe the debt as mostly coming from contributions deducted from salaries but never sent to the pension houses.
“This is literally employees’ salaries, they deducted the money and never sent it to the pension houses. People retired with peanuts. Now they are dying,” said Matilda Kimeto, national general secretary of the union.
Kimeto warned that the problem is worsening as more employees retire each month, putting current workers at risk of facing the same outcome if urgent action is not taken.
She accused Nairobi Water management and its board of halting a Sh3.5 million daily payment in 2022 that had been agreed in 2016 to cover both current contributions and arrears. The suspension of this arrangement has caused interest and penalties to accumulate beyond what a normal bank loan would have cost.
A bank loan intended to clear the arrears was fully processed and approved, pending only the county assembly’s approval.
“We waited seven, eight years for that bank loan to be completed; it would have cleared the debt by 2023. But the governor came up with another arrangement and left ours hanging. There is no goodwill,” Kimeto said.
To pressure the National Treasury and Nairobi County to act, retirees and the union have planned a three-day protest from December 2 to 4, accusing Nairobi Water management of ignoring repeated attempts to resolve the matter.
“If management claims the county government is the problem, we will go to the governor; we have nowhere else to go. We are old. Some of us came here sick. Some could not come because they are in the hospital,” Kimeto added.
The union condemned prioritising contractors and suppliers over retirees, calling it “cruel and unacceptable,” and blamed political interference for deepening the crisis. They are calling on
President William Ruto, the Treasury, the Public Service Commission, Parliament, and City Hall to reinstate the daily standing order and approve the bank loan to prevent further deaths.
“This is not charity. It is our right under the Constitution. Enough is enough. We have gone in circles for years. We are not shelving this again,” Kimeto said.
Retirees reported travelling from as far as Kisii, Homa Bay, Taita Taveta, and Nyeri in an effort to recover pensions they say Nairobi Water has unlawfully withheld for nearly two decades.
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