Election rigging bid flops

Mon, 29 May 2017 13:08:48 +0000

…moves  by Pension and Insurance Authority to doctor a list of critical trustees from Saturnia Pension exposed

By Nation Reporter

A conspiracy to replace all the critical Trustees suspected of exposing  the criminal externalization of  K400million  Saturnia Pension Fund to Luxembourg  has flopped.

The conspiracy spearheaded by senior officials at the Pension and Insurance Authority (PIA) working in collusion with a manager at Benefits Consulting Services was to force a snap elective Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 23rd June 2017 at which a new team would have been elected.

PIA insiders told the Daily Nation that the attempt to rig the elections was shot down by the serving Board of Trustees who refused to hold the Annual General Meeting without the consideration of the Fund Accounts by the Audit Committee and the meeting of the Investment Committee both of which are supposed to report to the members at the AGM.

The Trustees want the unauthorized transfer of ZMW 399, 472, 260.00 to Luxembourg offshore accounts and other mysterious investments in the United Kingdom including concealment of Title Deeds were examined.

Trustees prevailed on postponing the annual general meeting to 14th July, 2017 and even then on condition that Benefits Consulting Services produced and presented Audit and Investment reports for the respective committees to review.

 “It appears that the PIA and Bencon were trying to avoid the presentation of accounts and the investment report both of which are critical indicators to the performance of the Fund,” the sources said.

The sources said that the Trustees insisted at the tripartite meeting held on Friday last week that the normal sequence of events that precede an elective Annual General Meeting including the scrutinizing of candidates must take place.

“Holding the meeting without the accounts and investment report would throw the pension fund into deeper chaos,” the sources said.

The Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees has embarked on a project to improve governance of the Fund by service providers Benefits Consulting Services Limited and African Financial Services Limited which are related companies owned by the Munakupya Hantuba, Hakainde Hichilema and Valentine Chitalu through Menel Management Services, have been resisting the changes.

African Life Financial Services and Mr. Munakupya Hantuba placed injunctions restraining the Trustees from performing their functions. The injunctions were discharged by the Lusaka High Court which validated the tenure of office of the Trustees.

But last week, Bencon did, in complete defiance of the court, stop the Board of Trustees from holding routine committee meetings on the grounds that their tenure of office had come to an end.

The PIA conducted an inspection on Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Fund and found a lot of irregularities which were committed by the service providers but the report is instead shifting the blame to the Trustees.

Industry insiders have been wondering why the PIA has not taken any actions against Benefits Consulting Services Limited and African Life Financial Services despite the danger posed to the benefits of 34,000 Zambians.