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{
    "id": 800399,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/800399/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 219,
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    "content": "“The fund manager shall, in addition to the duties prescribed under the Retirement Benefits Act – (a) implement the investment policy of the scheme as approved by the Board;” This must be underscored because you might find definitions from the investment policy approved by the Board that are inexplicable. This is where public malfeasance comes in. This is where you find that some these schemes might be having unrelated investments that you cannot really quantify in terms of the benefit to the pensioner. So, an investment policy is actually set as proposed and approved by the Board of this Scheme. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the managing trustee have to follow that to the letter in terms of any acquisitions or any other investments. They must also manage the Schemes’ funds and assets in accordance with the provisions of the Retirement Benefits Act, which I have said has policy issues. They will also maintain books of account, which will be reviewed by the Auditor-General and this House. Madam Temporary Speaker, part of the tug of war that existed from 2013 was on the issue of corporate administration of these schemes. There is a school of thought that felt that this Scheme would best be administered by a private administrator. In fact, one of the versions of the Bill had a certificate number of a private institution to administer this scheme. That has never been done in legislation in the Commonwealth. You cannot legislate specifically for private entity. We felt that the funds of Kenyans will be better kept and administered by an institution that is fully accountable to the institutions of oversight in this country, which include the Office of the Auditor-General, the National Assembly and the Senate; and in this case, the Senate. Madam Temporary Speaker, in addition to the duties that are provided in the Retirement Benefits Act, the custodian receives the total contributions remitted not later than the next business day following the receipt or contributions from a sponsor. The custodian must also notify the fund manager and the administrator of such receipt not later than the next business day. He or she will also receive and keep in safe custody the title documents, securities and monies of the scheme in trust for the members and beneficiaries. Clause 24(2) of the Bill provides- “The functions of the administrator shall be to- (a) open and maintain an account for each member;” This is because these days, we have technology across the country which enables us to get information of the status of the account in real time. This will enable members and beneficiaries to know how many their contributions are and how much is due to them upon retirement. “(b) upon receiving details of the contributions remitted under this Act, cause the amount of the contributions to be credited in the account of the member in respect of whom the sponsor has made payment; (c) inform the Board if a member’s contributions details differ from the expected;” This will enable us to deal, in real time as days go by, with the issues of non-remittance, which is done by many of our county governments. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}