A Gauteng teacher says he has been left stranded by the Gauteng Department of Education, which has failed to pay his pension.
Lucky Tsotetsi,60, retired as an educator after suffering a stroke in 2016.
A visibly emotional and depressed Tsotetsi detailed how he had to live with hand-outs while the department withheld his money.
“My pension benefits are still to be paid into my bank account, when I retired on the 3rd July 2023, the GDE continued paying my salary until it was stopped in March 2024, and now the GDE demands that I am indebted to it and I should refund it from August 2023 to March 2024.
“I never asked for them to continue paying my salary because I had retired, the lady who works as a Human Resource and administration (officer) for the GDE at Springs district, by the name of Christene Pelo, tried to show her colleagues, in particular those in the labour department under one Sehlare Seshibe that what Seshibe was doing to me together with his colleagues, was a travesty of justice,” Tsotetsi said.
He said the department was punishing him for something he did not have knowledge of, adding that he was not aware that he had to ask the department to remove him from its payroll system immediately after retirement.
“I am not familiar with salary self payments, therefore I did not at my behest ask the GDE to take me off its payroll system, the district HR specialist, is willing to vouch for me on this because she alluded (this) to those above her and that what they were doing was wrong but it fell on deaf ears.
“My pension benefits are still to be paid and the district says I owe it R266 861 which I did not even borrow whatsoever. I am broke as it is, all my policies lapsed due to the GEPF and GDE blunders which have affected my health and well-being”.
Furthermore, he said the district director was aware of his situation saying that did not help as well.
Tsotetsi said his financial situation was dire and he was on the verge of losing his car due to none payment.
GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona had not responded at the time of print.
-Saturday Star
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