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GIPF shelves Kuleni plans
PRESSURE from Government and unions yesterday forced the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) to postpone indefinitely the outsourcing of its administration services to Kuleni Fund Administrators as well as the termination of service for its 160 staff members.
In a media release late yesterday GIPF Chief Executive Officer Primus Hango announced that the decision was taken by the Board of Trustees.
He said there was “considerable stakeholder issues that emerged with regard to the appointment of Kuleni Fund Administrators including the relocation of operational resources that are presently housed under the GIPF”.
However, Hango insisted that the postponement did not mean that the Kuleni idea was dropped by the Board of Trustees of GIPF. Instead, he said, it was only shelved for now.
GIPF established a commercial entity called the GIPF Administrators (Pty) Ltd in 1999 but the name was changed to Kuleni Fund Administrators (Pty) Ltd in 2004.
Kuleni Fund Administrators is an investment of the GIPF managed by a board of directors whose members are appointed by the board of trustees of the GIPF.
Media reports had claimed that some GIPF Board of Trustees were also to serve on the Kuleni board.
GIPF administers the pensions of about 75 000 civil servants.
On Wednesday, the General Secretary of the Namibia National Teachers’ Union, Basilius Haingura, said the union would recall Walvis Bay-based teacher PE Fischer who represents them on the GIPF Board.
Haingura claimed that Nantu was not well informed about plans to transfer the GIPF administration to Kuleni and that those representing workers’ interest had actually “sold out workers”.
Apart from Nantu, the Namibia Public Workers’ Union is also represented on the GIPF Board by Eliphas Dingara and Napwu General Secretary Peter Nevonga.
Secretary General of the National Union of Namibian Workers Evilastus Kaaronda had earlier also stated that the unionists on the GIPF Board had failed to act in the interest of workers.
Hango said the GIPF Board of Trustees decided to withdraw the notification letters of termination of employment of staff served on them last week “pending a future effective date when they will be transferred to Kuleni”.
“The decision to withdraw the termination letters was made with a definite understanding that the Trustees of GIPF remain committed to their mandate of appointing a fund administrator for the Fund,” Hango said.
He said the Board was committed “to make every effort to implement the decision of appointing Kuleni”.
“Therefore, the Board will continue to engage stakeholders to ensure broad support for the decision of GIPF with regard to Kuleni,” Hango said.
The GIPF move was also opposed by Asnat Zamuee, Secretary General of the Namibia Financial Institutions Union (Nafinu), who vowed that they would do everything in their power to stop the transfer of administration to Kuleni.
Nafinu was not convinced that Kuleni was a viable company, Zamuee said.
She claimed that in its ten years of existence Kuleni had not managed to get any significant business.
Getting hold of the administration of the GIPF would mean administrating pension fund assets worth more than N$37 billion.
“The GIPF has a history of losing money,” Zamuee said.
Workers have been unhappy about Kuleni’s involvement in the GIPF for some time. Last June, they urged the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Prime Minister to investigate Kuleni.
Hango recently placed advertisements in the media in an effort to calm public concern about Kuleni.
He did, however, not mention who the directors of Kuleni currently are, nor did he say who the shareholders of the company are.
“Kuleni Fund Administrators (Pty) Ltd is Namibian-owned and is managed by Namibians,” is all Hango offered in the advertisements.
Hango said GIPF wants to separate the administration function from the pension fund as this would “allow trustees to focus, as they should, on making sure that the assets of the GIPF are properly invested and secured and that the fund conducts its business in compliance with the Pension Funds Act and the rules of the GIPF”.
In the advertisements, Hango assured GIPF employees that no job losses would occur with the transfer to Kuleni and “that all staff members would enjoy benefits no less favourable than those provided for by the GIPF”.
He also assured GIPF members that Kuleni would not change the benefits of members and pensioners.
Hango said Kuleni would receive a service level fee from the GIPF.
