The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has fired general manager James Matiza and four other executives as part of a restructuring exercise that will give the institution a fresh start, board chairman Robin Vela has said.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
In a statement yesterday, NSSA said it had axed with immediate effect Matiza alongside Shadreck Vera (investment director), Tendai Mafunda (corporate services director), Patrick Mapani (finance director) and ICT director Bright Chidyagwai.
Vela told NewsDay yesterday that the restructuring exercise was important to give NSSA a fresh start “and ultimately return NSSA to its rightful owners who are pensioners and contributors”. “A culture change doesn’t come without changing personnel,” Vela said.
He said the board, which came into office in July, was concerned with NSSA’s operational costs and had to take action.
He said the exercise was also meant to spruce up the image of NSSA, improve its perception and “deliver more on the living pensions”.
NSSA is bigger than the individual. It has 10 million people whom we are accountable to,” Vela said, adding that he would deliver in the next few days another statement on the institution. Board member Hashmon Matemera will be the interim general manager pending the appointment of a substantive head.
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“Mr Matemera is not a candidate for the substantive position and his acting appointment will not extend beyond the latest date of March 31 2016 under any circumstances. Further announcements will be made in due course,” NSSA said.
NSSA has been in the eye of a storm for using workers’ money to invest in unprofitable ventures.
It lost $50 million when it tried to rescue the then ReNaissance Merchant Bank.
The bank, which was rebranded to Capital Bank, surrendered its banking licence after the authority said it would not continue pumping money into the struggling entity. The company, however, contends that it had to invest in the bank as a gateway to First Mutual Holdings.
NSSA also lost about $16 million in other banks that have been shut down. It had $15 million deposited with Interfin Banking Corporation, which closed down in 2012 after gross abuse of depositors’ funds was unearthed.
NSSA had more than $750 000 in Genesis Bank, which collapsed in 2012. Yet retired workers were getting peanuts in pension payouts. NSSA has shareholdings in CBZ, ZB Financial Holdings, FBC and Rainbow Tourism Group among others.
