MUN supports Financial Institutions and Markets Act implementation

The Minesworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) has welcomed the approval of the implementation of the Financial Institutions and Markets Act (Fima) by minister of finance Ericah Shafudah.

This comes after an announcement on Thursday by Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) chief executive Kenneth Matomola.

He said Namfisa has been directed to proceed with the implementation of Fima. However, the preservation benefits will not be implemented together with Fima.

“The preservation will be reworked considering all views expressed by the public,” he said.

Fima replaces the Pension Funds Act of 1956, with the new legislation having been slated to come into effect in 2022, which never took place due to objections. The new enactment date will be announced at a later stage.

“The union welcomes and fully supports the courageous decision to implement Fima without the deeply contested mandatory preservation clause. This decision affirms what we have consistently argued in our earlier public statements, namely that the proposed forced preservation directive was nothing short of draconian, a miscarriage of justice and a direct perpetuation of poverty among the working class,” says MUN general secretary George Ampweya.

Ampweya said this in a statement on Friday.

He said the compulsory preservation would have restricted workers’ right to access their own retirement savings when they needed it.

He warned that such a measure would punish workers for the failures of the economic system and entrench financial hardship, especially in sectors like mining where retrenchments, restructuring and precarious employment remain daily realities.

The minister’s decision, Ampweya added, reflects an understanding of the lived experiences of Namibian workers and demonstrates responsiveness to the voices of the unions.

“We note Namfisa’s commitment to rework the preservation regulation with full consideration of public inputs and MUN, through the National Union of Namibian Workers, stands ready to engage constructively,” he said.

He said this is to ensure any future proposals promotes equity, economic justice and genuine financial security, not the deprivation and hardship that the previous draft threatened to impose.

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