Bereng Mpaki
THE government will only release relief funds to assist private companies and factory workers who are distressed by the ongoing lockdown once parliament passes the 2020/21 budget, principal secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Motena Tšolo, has said.
Ms Tšolo’s statements came on the back of the government’s pledge to rescue businesses that are struggling financially under the current national lockdown which started on 30 March 2020. The lockdown ends on 5 May 2020.
This means that the country’s 45 000 factory workers who were expecting the M800 subsidy promised by the government this month will have to wait longer before they can access the funds.
The government this month said it would unveil a M500 million Private Sector Relief Fund to recue struggling businesses. Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on 13 April also pledged M800 for each of the country’s 45 000 factory workers for the next three months.
Most factories are unable to pay their workers this month owing to the lockdown since there was no production.
After Mr Thabane’s pledge, businesses and factory workers had anticipated that they would access the fund this monthend.
However, Ms Tšolo said the processes all rely on the approval of the budget by parliament.
“The issue is being addressed and the money is being put aside,” Ms Tšolo said.
“However, you should be aware that these government economic interventions against the impact of COVID-19 are based on the parliament’s approval of the current financial year’s budget estimates which is on-going.”
The chairperson of the parliamentary economic and development cluster committee, Samuel Rapapa, this week tabled a report on the 2020/2021 budget estimates before the house. National Assembly clerk Advocate Lebohang Fine Maema said the next step is for the house’s Business Committee to set a date for parliament to deliberate on the contents of the report.
Although it is unclear when the budget will be approved, Tšepang Makakole from National Clothing, Textile and Allied Workers’ Union (NACTWU) said the factory workers were only likely to receive the money in late May because of the government’s slow implementation.
He said the government was still receiving payrolls from factories and would then verify them before releasing the funds.
“The government has acted very slowly towards implementing its pledge. There are many factories (more than 70) and the government is currently verifying their payrolls. This process is at an early stage as we speak.
“Some workers were paid last Friday for the few days they worked just before the factories closed down for the lockdown. So, given this situation, it looks very likely that factory workers will receive the subsidy only towards the end of May,” Mr Makakole said.
He said the delay in releasing the subsidy would leave workers in financial dire straits.
“The delay is bad for the workers as the waiting will not only leave them with a shortage of funds for their households needs but also emotional distress. The factory workers are not impressed at all with this state of affairs,” he said.
Mr Makakole also blasted the factory employers for failing to contribute towards the welfare of their workers.
“The investors are also supposed to take some level of responsibility on the workers by way of giving back to them. They requested tax and rental holidays from the government so that they could contribute towards their workers’ income but nothing has come so far.”
He said many workers had taken home less than a quarter of their monthly salaries for the month of April given the few days that they worked before the lockdown.
Contacted for comment, the Minister of Labour and Employment Keketso Rantšo promised to call back but had not done so by the time of going to print.
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