Civil servants need happy life after retirement
On Monday authorities in Mundri East County of Western Equatoria State said two people have committed suicide due to poverty.
According to the County police inspector, the two men hanged themselves on the same day but at different locations.
“It was an unfortunate incident that happened on Saturday night in Mundri East County, where two men committed suicide, one in Lui Payam and the other one in the Jambo area.”
“A man identified as Amuza Luka, 61 years old, hanged himself in Jambo, while a young man, known by his name as Eriden, hanged himself in Lui. That is exactly what happened,” Jenssio explained.
“When the tragedy happened, we (police) made some inquiries with family members but the information we got was that the late told one of his sisters those things have become hard him because he cannot handle them, and he feels like leaving this world,” he said.
Jenessio said the Late Luka was a former employee of Lui Hospital but retired a few years ago without and was receiving his pension.
Unfortunately, the two men have taken their lives due to palling situation caused by the protracted economic crisis in the country. Indeed, the economic crisis and the sub-national conflict in some parts of the country have significantly affected the people’s livelihoods.
Besides that, some served in the government for quite a long time but many often retire without being paid their pension. Imagine how difficult it is for most civil servants in the country to begin their lives after retirement. How do you expect a person to have a good living after retirement?
It is important to note that as people develop through their lifetime, they expect that a time will come when they will be able to retire. So, in most countries, the State pension is sufficient to provide a basic level of income for the person when he or she retires. Others may have an opportunity to accumulate wealth without using pension schemes, especially for those who are doing business.
However, most people would wish to supplement what they have with some form of a pension scheme. That is why most government employers across the world would like to see while their employees are working, they should be building up an entitlement to a pension when they retire. In this case, once a person retires, he or she is paid the pension immediately unlike in South Sudan where a civil servant can retire and die without receiving one percent of the benefit.
The government should ensure that its employees get their pension to live a happy life after retirement. Nevertheless, it is not recommended for one to take his or her own life whatever the situation might be because that is not the best solution to the problem.
One needs to go for counseling when faced with such a situation instead of taking his or her life.
