Liberty Corporate is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Douglas Maila and Mr Jerry Mnisi as independent trustees of the group’s Unclaimed Benefits Funds (the Funds). These highly respected individuals bring with them a wealth of industry experience and will enhance the corporate governance of the Funds.
Mr Maila is a well-known and esteemed former unionist who served as a member elected trustee of the Kimberly Clark Provident Fund for 15 years. He has been instrumental in highlighting the plight of retirement fund members and has played a role in educating communities on unclaimed and unpaid retirement fund benefits.
Mr Mnisi has spent most of his professional career serving in the investments and the retirement funds industry. His career includes working for STANLIB, Old Mutual and RMB. He currently does not hold any executive responsibility and acts as a director to certain STANLIB subsidiaries. He serves as Chair of Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), and as independent trustee of their retirement fund.
Commenting on the appointments, Liberty Corporate Chief Executive Tiaan Kotze said: “We take the issue of unclaimed benefits seriously and continue to make good progress on this industry-wide issue. I would like to thank both Douglas Maila and Jerry Mnisi for their willingness to serve members through their appointment to the Liberty Unclaimed Benefits Fund; their appointment significantly enhances the voice of the member in the governance of the funds.
Kotze went on to say that “We have also significantly increased our capacity to trace and pay unclaimed benefits and increased our engagement with community bodies. In addition we've accelerated our employer and member education efforts in order to reduce the incidence of unclaimed benefits in future.”
Liberty is committed to addressing the issue of unclaimed benefits and currently working with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that all members that are due benefits are paid.