Questions have arisen over the legitimacy of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament to conduct an inquiry into the sale of the Amaryllis hotel to the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF).
PAC is parliamentary oversight body mandated to ensure transparency, accountability and integrity in the use of public funds. It scrutinizes government expenditure, examines Auditor General reports and holds controlling officers accountable for financial management, value for money and adherence to laws.
According to the PSPTF’s Trust Deed that we have seen, the PSPTF is a Trust, capable of suing and being sued in its own name. It is neither a public body nor a statutory corporation to warrant PAC’S probe. The Fund does not receive subvention or budget allocation from the government. Public servants contribute five percent to their pension while their employer (the government) contributes 10 percent. When the government makes the contribution, the money ceases to belong to the government and now belongs to the pensioner. It is no longer public money.
According to the Trust Deed, the Malawi government which is an employer is required under the Pension Act to set up a Pension Fund for the benefit of its employees. The Fund is not a statutory body. It does not receive any funding from the government’s budget, notwithstanding that it is supervised by the Ministry of Finance.
The Deed further says the number of trustees shall always be 12 half of whom shall be representatives of the Employer and the other half of the members. The six members are appointed by the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions. A public body does not operate like that.
The Public Finance Management Act defines public money” as all money, other than trust money, received by the Government, including all revenue, grants, loans and other moneys, and all bonds, debentures, and any other securities received by, or on account of, or payable to, or belonging to, or deposited with the Government or any Ministry by—(a)any officer of Government in his capacity as such; or(b)any person on behalf of Government;“ I also defines public resources” as all real or personal property that belongs to or is owned or held by the State or held by any Ministry, agency or other person for and on behalf of the State or the Government.
It is therefore clear that pension money is not public money. It constitutes private funds by the members of the pension scheme.
For now, it remains to be seen how PAC of parliament will justify the continued probe, but a reading of their mandate clearly shows that PAC has assumed a mandate it has no jurisdiction on, raising concerns as to the legality of the process.
Leave a Reply