Online Reporter
Tawanda Musarurwa in BULAWAYO
PENSION fund trustees were reminded this week that the job of safeguarding members’ retirement promises has not changed, but the speed and risks around it have, and boards must adapt quickly to AI-driven threats and a digital economy.
Speaking at the ongoing 7th edition of the Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds (ZAPF) Principal Officers and Chairmen’s Convention, Masawara Group Industrial and New Business Cluster chief executive Mr Bothwell Nyajeka said the fiduciary mandate is fixed even as the environment shifts.
“That mandate remains constant, regardless of whatever change is happening in the environment,” he said.
“That job hasn’t changed. What has changed is speed. What has changed is the risks of the investment. What has changed is how we do things.”
Mr Nyajeka said trustees who fail to deliver on that promise “have failed as a trustee”.
He urged boards to test scenarios for risks such as de-dollarisation rather than wait for them to materialise.
He said board members can use AI to interrogate management reports, but not outsource their judgment.
A board member’s job, he said, is to read the board packet and probe the language in it. “Internal control lapses” may mask a fraud, he said, and trustees must ask the question rather than accept softened wording.
AI can help trustees decide what to ask, he said, “but it doesn’t take away your responsibility to understand the game, because you’re going to be given wrong answers.”
On governance, he called for faster board renewal and more frequent meetings.
“We don’t let people stay for more than 10 years,” he said, adding that waiting for quarterly meetings can be costly. “If you wait for a quarter, damage would have been done.”
Pressed by a delegate on regulatory caps on meeting expenses, he said regulatory limits should be treated as minimum standards. He also urged trustees to record dissent when overruled, since directors can be held individually accountable.
Xarani managing director Mr Agrippa Mugwagwa focused on cybersecurity, warning that funds hold member data and large assets, making them prime targets for criminals using AI.
“Your attack surface is much bigger than you think,” he said, citing the web of members, administrators, custodians and employers around each fund. “You are as strong as your weakest link.”
He described deepfake fraud in which a cloned voice and video of an executive can be convincing enough to trigger payments, citing a case in which a fake video meeting led to a US$20 million transfer.
“Always verify,” he said, “pick up the phone and call back.”
Boards should put AI policy frameworks in place, he said, noting the country’s Data Protection and Cybersecurity legislation and National AI Strategy.
The aim is not to block innovation, he said, but to “govern before, during and after deployment”.
Funds should also scrutinise vendors and review risk documents for AI exposure. Mr Mugwagwa said digital tools can also cut costs, including through onboarding members digitally and verifying identity against primary data sources.
