Pensions compensation key to confidence restoration: Deputy Minister Mnangagwa
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister, Hon. Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa says compensation for the 2009 loss of pension values will go a long in restoring confidence in pensions.
He says the government should also take a leading role in ensuring that people have confidence in pension plans.
Deputy Mnangagwa made the remarks on the sidelines of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors Global Forum hosted by the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) in Victoria Falls recently.
“I think the first thing that is critical is that we, as government, need to be at the forefront to assist in the regaining of trust and confidence in our pensions industry,” said Hon. Mnangagwa.
“After the dollarisation in 2009, you find that a lot of pensioners’ monies were wiped away and that created a lot of mistrust and lack of confidence in the industry. A lot of people were affected.”
He said government took seriously, the findings and recommendations of the Justice Smith-led Commission of Inquiry on the conversion of insurance and pension values from the Zimbabwe dollar to the United States dollar in 2009.
“IPEC has also been at the forefront of making sure that we implement some of these recommendations. Key to that is that we reimburse pensioners who lost their monies.
“Government has come in and set aside US$175 million towards that effort. Pension funds have been asked by the end of this year, to come up with their frameworks and their payment plans. This is a first step in building confidence,” said Deputy Minister Mnangagwa.
The Pensions and Provident Funds (Compensation for Loss of Pre-2009 Value of Pension Benefits) Regulations, 2023 were gazetted on Friday 29 September 2023 through Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023.