Dear Mr. Editor,
On April 26, 2016, Minister of Justice Edison Kirindongo along with representatives of the various unions that represent the civil servants working in the Justice Ministry appeared in Parliament to respond to the questions posed to him on the insurance policy for police officers.
Minister Kirindongo showed the Members of Parliament a PowerPoint of what he has been doing in order to have a suitable insurance package for the justice workers. He said that the unions in collaboration with his Ministry already selected an insurance company that will provide insurance for the justice workers.
The cost of the insurance policy will be NAF. 35.00 per worker per month a total of NAF. 420.00 per year per employee. Coverage for all justice workers will cost the Ministry NAF. 19,250.00 monthly for the 550 workers in the Justice Ministry, which brings it to NAF. 231,000.00 yearly.
The Minister was given credit by most Members of Parliament for being able to work with the unions and to find a reasonable solution to provide life insurance for justice workers who place their lives on the line on a daily basis.
I very much support the Justice Ministry in having a suitable insurance for personnel that put their lives at risk in the line of duty, but I have a couple of issues.
1) This should have been done for the Ambulance and Fire Department personnel also. How does this insurance compare to what the Ambulance and Fire Department has?
2) This insurance goes beyond the civil servants that put their lives at risk in the line of duty in the Justice Ministry; it also includes the rest of the personnel in the Justice Ministry. What about the rest of the civil servants in the other ministries? There seems to be an imbalance within the Government structure.
The Council of Ministers should realize that upon approving this insurance for the Justice Ministry it will create an imbalance within the government organization and also could have legal implications for government from the civil service. I would advise the Council of Ministers to think very carefully on approving this insurance as is.
Jason Peterson
