Arrest PIA registrar, Pensioners demand

INVESTIGATIVE wings must immediately arrest Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) registrar Martin Libinga for misleading the Minister of Finance, Margaret Mwanakatwe, and forcing her to issue a statement to parliament regarding the state of the Saturnia Regna Pension Fund offshore investment that did not reflect the reality on the ground, leader of the BP Zambia pensioners, Expendito Chipalo has demanded.

Ms. Mwanakatwe yesterday told parliament that even though the externalised funds were not approved by her ministry, trustees had consented to the transaction but said Government would recall the billions of Kwacha illegally stashed outside the country because it had traced where the money was. But Mr. Chipalo reacted angrily to the statement saying whatever Ms. Mwanakatwe said in parliament yesterday was from Mr. Libinga’s textbook as the KPGM report had never been discussed and the PIA inspection report of 2016 had made it clear that the money was externalised without the knowledge and approval of the trustees. “Mr. Libinga must be immediately arrested because it is a criminal offence to give false information to a minister who then goes on to announce it in Parliament. I am shocked that this man can even go to the extent of saying the KPMG report was discussed at the previous Annual General Meeting (AGM) because that is not true.

“After the AGM, I called the chairman for the board of trustees, Review Namanje, requesting for a report because I am an interested party but he told me in very clear terms that the report could not be released because it has not been discussed by the board and our conversation is on record and can be retrieved,” Mr. Chipalo said. He challenged the Ministry of Finance to find out from the old trustees who were removed from the board for demanding for transparency and accountability, if they ever approved the externalisation of funds to offshore accounts. He further challenged the ministry to engage the old trustees and find out if the forensic audit report was presented and discussed at the last AGM at which they were ousted from the fund. “That report was not discussed and that is why it is still being hidden to-date. I am further shocked that today, the minister has been misled into believing that the money was externalised under approval from the trustees because that is another lie. “The PIA inspection report of 2016 clearly states that the money was externalised without ministerial approval and it is trustees who unearthed this matter. So, which trustees approved this transaction?” he asked. She said this will be done in order to allow for a legal laid down procedure which involves the approval of Government. “We will recall billions of Kwacha illegally stashed outside the country by the Saturnia Regna Pension Scheme because we have traced where it is. The funds that were externalised were with the approval of the trustees who are in charge of the running of the pension scheme. “What we are calling illegality is the breach of the procedure in which permission should have been gotten and this is why Madam Speaker, we are going to be asking for the recall of this money,” Ms. Mwanakatwe said.