Online Reporter
Diana Nherera
Herald Reporter
HARARE Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume has urged the board of the City of Harare Pension Fund to submit investment proposals urgently since pensioners are suffering.
In communications to the mayor at a recent full council meeting, Clr Mafume said the pension fund needed to come up with ways to make money since pensioners were living miserable lives.
“People die as soon as they retire from this place due to sheer poverty,” he said.
Clr Mafume said the pension fund needed a strategy to generate money.
“We have land to construct shopping centres, housing developments and buildings,” Clr Mafume said.
“We have a clinic that has not been completed since 1995, yet we have a pension fund. We have buildings that are yet to be completed, which, if the medical aid or pension fund had financed their completion, would have been rented out.”
Clr Mafume said he met the LAPF board members last month.
“They were looking for their money. I heard we are going to have a commission to look into the inquiries,” he said.
“I also raised my concerns. Our pension fund owns the Jameson Hotel, OK Marimba, the Throgmorton Building and several other shopping centres and buildings in town and the building where we used to have Barbours.
“It is building a hotel; it has bought land to build a hotel in Victoria Falls, but it is not participating as much as I think it should to bring value to our shareholders.”
Cllr Mafume said the pension fund should be developed for council workers.
“It should be developing stands, building shopping centres, it must develop and build and must invest in most of the areas that we are looking for investors,” he said.
“How do we look for investors everywhere when we have a pension fund that is buying land for hotels in Vic Falls?
“Vic Falls might be a good destination, but I think that there is no relationship, and our pensioners are suffering. The place to invest in Zimbabwe is Harare. How do we have a business committee struggling to get investors, yet we have a pension fund, when we have the land?
“They go and buy land for US$2million when they can get land here in Harare for favourable terms because it’s our pension fund. And the people who represent us there, I don’t even understand. We don’t get regular reports, and we are not being fully
represented.”
Cllr Mafume said the council now gives its employees gratuities when they retire, when they are also contributing to a pension fund.
“Why are we paying contributions to a pension fund when in our collective bargaining agreement, we are now saying everyone who now retires, we are giving them a gratuity?
“We’ve got to marry the two; the pension and our negotiations at the collective bargaining because the employer is paying out twice,” he said.to submit investment proposals urgently since pensioners are suffering.
In communications to the mayor at a recent full council meeting, Cllr Mafume said the pension fund needs to come up with ways to make money since pensioners were living a miserable life.
“People die as soon as they retire from this place due to sheer poverty,” he said.
Cllr Mafume said the pension fund needs a strategy to generate money.
“We have land to construct shopping centres, housing developments and buildings,” Mayor Mafume said.
“We have a clinic that has not been completed since 1995, yet we have a pension fund. We have buildings that are yet to be completed, which, if the medical aid or pension fund had financed their completion, would have been rented out.”
Cllr Mafume said he met the LAPF board members last month.
“They were looking for their money. I heard we are going to have a commission to look into the inquiries,” he said.
“I also raised my concerns. Our pension fund owns the Jameson Hotel, OK Marimba, the Throgmorton Building and several other shopping centres and buildings in town and the building where we used to have Barbours.
“It is building a hotel; it has bought land to build a hotel in Victoria Falls, but it is not participating as much as I think it should to bring value to our shareholders.”
Cllr Mafume said the pension fund should be developed for council workers.
“It should be developing stands, building shopping centres, it must develop and build and must invest in most of the areas that we are looking for investors,” he said.
“How do we look for investors everywhere when we have a pension fund that is buying land for hotels in Vic Falls?
“Vic Falls might be a good destination, but I think that there is no relationship, and our pensioners are suffering. The place to invest in Zimbabwe is Harare. How do we have a business committee struggling to get investors, yet we have a pension fund, when we have the land?
“They go and buy land for US$2million when they can get land here in Harare for favourable terms because it’s our pension fund. And the people who represent us there, I don’t even understand. We don’t get regular reports, and we are not being fully
represented.”
Clr Mafume said the council now gives its employees gratuities when they retire, when they are also contributing to a pension fund.
“Why are we paying contributions to a pension fund when in our collective bargaining agreement, we are now saying everyone who now retires, we are giving them a gratuity?
“We’ve got to marry the two; the pension and our negotiations at the collective bargaining because the employer is paying out twice,” he said.
