Thabiso Nxumalo/Melinda Kusemachibi
Two Masvingo institutions Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) and Masvingo City Council (MCC) are reportedly owing Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) a combined ZWL$ 37,382,336.67 in pension fund contributions.
According to a statement published by IPEC on June 8 in The Herald newspaper, Masvingo City Council is owing ZW$ 18 589 660.67 in form of Local Authority Pension Fund (LAPF) while Great Zimbabwe University is owing ZW$ 18 792 676.00 towards Great Zimbabwe University Pension Fund.
GZU Director of Information and Public Relations Anderson Chipatiso denied the allegations and said that they are up to date on pension fund contributions.
“We do not have any arrears. We are up to date with our pension funds, Old Mutual can confirm that,” said Chipatiso.
Contacted for comment Masvingo Mayor councillor Collen Maboke said he was not aware of such arrears and referred all questions to Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa whose phone was not going through at the time of writing.
“This is my first time hearing about this, however you can direct your questions to the Town Clerk,” said Cllr Maboke.
Former Masvingo Mayor Hubert Fidze however said he had not yet received any form of pension package since he left council and no communication regarding the matter has been done.
“Personally, I am yet to receive any form of pension package since I left council and the worst part is that no communication efforts have been made so far to update us as to what could be the reason behind this,” said Fidze.
According to the public notice the 50 organizations listed were neglecting their constitutional obligation which they are required to fulfill by law.
“Employers that deduct pension contributors are required in terms of section 2 (a) of Statutory Instrument 61 of 2014 to pay contributors into the pension fund within 14 days from the end of the calendar month to which they refer.
IPEC has been receiving complaints from pension scheme members who have received reduced or no benefits owing to failure by the sponsoring employers to remit pension contributions after deducting the same,” read part of the notice statement.
IPEC’s latest statistics complied up to March 31, 2022 revealed that pension contribution arrears stood at ZW$ 5.3 billion.
Some of the most notable defaulters are parastatals (National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) (ZW$ 668 961 624), Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) (ZW$ 331 029 597, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) (ZW$ 74 171 160), Grain Marketing Board (GMB) (ZW$ 32 862 666), Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) (ZW$ 61 581 890), Zesa holdings (ZW$ 24 116 618), National Foods (ZW$ 22 123 152), Rural Electrification Authority (REA) (ZW$ 20 793 838) , local authorities and mines.
