NSSA appoints new management

Source: NSSA appoints new management | The Financial Gazette August 4, 2016

THE National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has appointed a new senior management team to complement its restructuring exercise which began in October last year with the aim of shifting the Authority’s mandate towards a “member-focused” path.

Addressing a press conference, Board Chairman Robin Vela said the Board had already started to re-look at its investment policies but the newly appointed management team was responsible for the detailed work.

“We have now scheduled to take a strategic time out as management team and Board for a month and we will try to dissect all our operations of NSSA and re-look at all aspects to ensure that what remains paramount will be service delivery to our pensioners,” he said.

Vela said the Authority’s investment policy will be split into three strategic areas whereby Property, Money Market and Strategic Assets will be the key deliverables.

The new management team will be headed by Elizabeth Chitiga who will assume the position of General Manager/Chief Executive Office. Other new appointments are Emmerson Mungwari who will take the position of Chief Finance and Operations Officer, Herbet Hungwe – Chief Investment Officer, Chikuni Mutiswa – Chief Strategic Assets Officer and Kura Chihota who takes the position of Chief Property Investment Officer.

The new appointees add to the three who were already in the NSSA structures who include Henry Chikova – Chief Social Security Officer, Barnabas Matongera – Chief Contributions, Collections and Compliance Officer and Betty Nyereyegona who is Chief Occupational, Health, Safety and Rehabilitation Centre Officer to bring total senior management to eight.

Vela said Property Investments as a separate area will be headed by Chihota and the newly appointed Chief Investments Officer will oversee Money Market Investments while Strategic Assets will be looked after by Mutizwa.

Vela said the Authority’s strategic assets that include the National Building Society (NBS) and Telecel Zimbabwe should deliver significant investment returns per annum to the Authority.

Commenting on the Telecel transaction, Vela said the Authority hopes to conclude the transaction during the third quarter of the year.

“We had issues regarding releasing the money to the buyer offshore and this is expected to be completed in the next quarter, so it’s a transaction we believe will close by end of September,” he said.

NSSA funded US$30 million that was needed by Government to complete the acquisition of the majority stake in Telecel Zimbabwe from Vimpelcom.

Vimpelcom disposed its stake to Government through Zarnet for US$40 million late last year, but Zarnet had paid the initial $10 million and failed to raise the remainder.

On prospects of capitalising Zimre Holdings Vela said the Board has started to-relook at the possibility of financing the group but has not yet come up with a decision.

“We were concerned with the ZIMRE capitalisation and we have started the process of re-looking at it since it was a process that happened prior to our appointment to the Board. We are now winding up and we have not put finality on it but we are looking to see if it does have merit to continue to haggle over it or draw a line and look at other NSSA’s lines of business,” he said.

NSSA increased its shareholdings in Zimre Holdings after it purchased around 18 million shares from an investment vehicle held by a foreign investor.

The Authority is currently the third largest shareholder in Zimre after the Rudlands and Government. FinX