Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 248407,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/248407/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 320,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kenneth",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Finance",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 167,
        "legal_name": "Peter Kenneth",
        "slug": "peter-kenneth"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. This is an amendment to an Act that was passed by this very House in 1997, for the creation of a Retirement Benefits Act. Nine years later, we have noticed the importance of bringing a few amendments to safeguard, regulate and ensure that governance of the retirement benefits are in good order. This particular amendment can be seen in three phases. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, first, as reforms within the sector of retirement benefits. Secondly, as a measure to good governance and, thirdly, introducing a few players. The bulk of this amendment is to introduce the role of an administrator into the retirement benefit schemes. The original Bill referred to a manager and a custodian and, over the years, we found it important to bring in an administrator to re-align what was set up by the Bill in 1997. If you go through the Bill, most of the amendments are aimed at bringing in the role of an administrator in a retirement scheme. The second phase is to regulate those administrators. The criteria to regulate the administrators has been given. The third phase is to ensure there is governance; by way of introducing regulations for the role of the administrators. We have given what the share capital of an administrator should be. We have said what an administrator should be. We have also said that he should be guided by certain regulations. All that is to ensure that retirement benefits schemes are in good order. Retirement benefits schemes are there to ensure that those who contribute towards their retirement are well taken care of when they retire. They get their money from their retirement schemes. We have also brought in a set of regulations so that any retiree can be sure that he will get his retirement benefits when he retires. I am also aware that some of the Questions that have been brought on the Floor of this House have concerned people who have retired; people who have paid some pension and in some cases, most of those pension schemes have actually closed down, thereby causing a lot of pain for people who have worked very hard and who thought that at some point, they would enjoy their retirement benefits. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one item which is very important in this particular amendment is to actually criminalise those employers who deduct money for purposes of retirement schemes and do not remit that money to those schemes. It has been the concern of this House that employers who have deducted employees' money have not remitted those deductions, not just to retirement schemes but to SACCOs or any other schemes that the employees could be involved in. We are, therefore, proposing, in amending this Act, that anybody who deducts money from an employee, money which he is supposed to remit to the scheme and does not do so in 15 days on deduction, has actually committed a criminal offence and the law should take its course. We are hoping that any employer who deducts any money and does not remit will take note of this so that the employee can get the benefit of deductions, because they are supposed to be invested on their behalf by the custodian or the administrator, so that they can accrue some interest to create what we call a good day when one retires. 1142 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 6, 2006 Looking at the Bill, it is talking about three things. The reforms that will bring very good regulations, and this is what we need to do after nine years of existence. The need to criminalise has been more than urgent. The need to create an administrator as part of the custodian and managers of pension schemes has been desirable from day one. With those remarks, I beg to move."
}