By NATION REPORTER
THE National Pensions Schemes Authority (NAPSA) has for the first time started selling its strategic prime properties and plots.
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But Emmanuel Mwamba, the Patriotic Front (PF) information and publicity chairperson has claimed that NAPSA has started selling its prime properties to raise money to finance Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway project and pay-outs of pre-retirement benefits.
According to an advertisement placed on the NAPSA online portal, the authority is now offloading several of its prime properties on the market.
NAPSA has an investment portfolio of K71 billion ($3.5 billion), which has been invested in diverse asset classes including fixed and liquid assets to meet benefit payout obligations as and when they occur.
Among the buildings being sold are stand 56 corner of Chachacha and Nkwazi roads with the reserve sale price of K11 million, stand 693 Impala House, Chachacha road with the reserve sale price of K23 million and stand 669/A, 700 and 701 Siaza House, Chachacha Road with the reserve sale price of K16 million
Others are plot 1022 Cairo Road which has the reserve sale price of K9 million, stand 3520 and 3521 Luangwa House, Cairo road with the reserve sale price K17 million and stand no. 4651, NAPSA Kalulushi Housing complex school with the reserve sale price of K3, 232, 000.00
But Mr Mwamba, said the authority had embarked on this route to fund the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway project and pay-outs of pre-retirement benefits. Mr Mwamba said; “We have strongly criticised the forced decision to make the NAPSA and the Workers’ Compensation Fund Control Board fund a consortium of Chinese companies to upgrade the 327 kilometres Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway.”
“The two social security pension funds had been directed to lend US$300 million to Macro Ocean Investment Consortium that comprises AVIC International Project Engineering, Zhenjiang Communications Construction Group and China Railway Seventh Group,” Mr Mwamba said.
Mr Mwamba said under normal circumstances, the Chinese Consortium should have brought in the investment as this is a Public Private Partnership project.
“But instead public funds will be used to fund a private entity to do a public road.
The Consortium has already taken over collection of road tolls and will do so for the next 25 years.
Coming from paying pre-retirement partial payments of US$650million to eligible members, NAPSA is clearly cash strapped,” he said.
Mr Mwamba said it was evident that new dawn was a neo-liberal government that believed in privatisation and the limited role of state-owned and public enterprises in the economy had been taken away.
“I expected NAPSA to announce investment in the upgrade and extensive rehabilitation of these building,he said, to attract premium rentals as most buildings have fallen into dilapidation. The National Pension Scheme Authority says it has invested over 69 percent of the fund into liquid assets which makes it able to meet its financial obligations either from fresh funds from contribution collections or maturities from its liquid instruments,” Mr Mwamba said.
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