The Ethiopian government has decided to pay back pensions that went unpaid for over two years during the devastating Tigray conflict, according to State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign (PhD).
The war between federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) raged from November 2020 until it formally ended in November 2022 with a cessation of hostilities agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa.
Pensioners in Tigray saw their payments stopped for the duration due to the violence and lack of contributions. However, on March 19, 2023, the government announced a major policy shift to pay the accumulated arrears as a political decision.
State Minister Eyob said this move aims to address the financial hardship faced by pensioners over the past two years of the war. The Finance Ministry is currently calculating the total number of pensioners affected and amount owed dating back to the start of the conflict in late 2020. Eyob confirmed the repayment will cover those who previously worked in both the public and private sectors in Tigray.
Payments of the back pensions are expected to start within the coming weeks.
While Ethiopia's pension system normally relies on regular employee contributions, the state minister emphasized that politics have overridden this technicality to compensate for losses due to circumstances beyond anyone's control during the war years.
The move aims to provide long-awaited relief and restore incomes for the region's large elderly population who suffered financial hardship and uncertainty throughout the conflict period.
