President sets up pensions conversion commission President Mugabe
President Mugabe

President Mugabe

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter
President Mugabe has set up a commission of inquiry to probe the conversion process used to convert pensions and insurance benefits following dollarisation of the economy in 2009.

This followed concerns by pensioners that their pensions and insurance benefits were undervalued during the switch over from the Zimbabwean dollar to the US dollar.

The nine member commission is chaired by retired judge Justice George Smith.

In a Statutory Instrument published in the Government Gazette yesterday, President Mugabe said the commission was set up in terms of Section 2 of the Commissions Act, which provides that the President may, when he considers it advisable, by proclamation appoint a commission of inquiry consisting one or more commissioners.

“Now, therefore, under and by virtue of the powers vested in the President as afore said, I do hereby establish a commission of inquiry into the conversion process used in the conversion of pensions and insurance benefits from Zimbabwean dollars to United States dollars, to provide the insurance and pensioners industry a transparent process to address the aforesaid conversion,” said the President.

“I do hereby appoint Justice George Smith to the chairman of the commission and direct that the inquiry shall be held for a period of nine months from the date of gazetting, with an option of extension of a further three months, at the insurance and pensions commission offices.”

Upon conclusion, President Mugabe said, the commission shall produce a report and one of its major tasks was to establish fully the total value of pensions, as at December 31, 2006 and as at March 31, 2009.

The commission would, among other duties, establish the value of old generation pension funds and the newer generation pension funds as of December 31, 2006 and March 31, 2009 and to establish an objective criteria for the delineation of old generation pension and newer generation pensions in both instances.

President Mugabe said the commission would identify appropriate criteria for assessing whether any pension fund members or insurance policy holders have been prejudiced and to establish the extent of the prejudice if any.

Said the President: “Where it has been established that pension fund members or insurance policyholders have been materially prejudiced, to establish an appropriate basis for compensating such pension fund members or insurance policyholders.”

Other members of the commission include Messrs Anesu Daka, George Dikinya, Tapiwa Maswera, Martin Tarusenga, Itai Chirume, Brains Muchemwa, Dr Godfrey Kanyenze and Mrs Violet Mutandwa.

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