FSB appoints board for municipal councillors pension fund

The Financial Services Board (FSB) has appointed an interim board to look after the affairs of the Municipal Councillors Pension Fund (MCPF).

Following complaints by various stakeholders and members of the MCPF, the Registrar called for an inspection into the affairs of the MCPF. Whilst no evidence of fraud or misappropriation of fund assets were found, the inspectors concluded , inter alia, that there were material governance failures and that the fund’s previous administrators mal-administered the fund.

The Deputy Executive Officer of Pension Funds at the FSB, Jurgen Boyd, says the interim board for the fund was appointed as the Fund was not able to reconstitute it board following the resignation of the previous board after the inspection findings were made available to them.

“The board will have several responsibilities such as considering and commenting on the inspection findings in respect of the Fund with a view to addressing the governance failures highlighted in the Inspection Report. They must review the administration and backlog project undertaken by the Fund’s new administrators and assess whether there should be litigation against any person in respect of any losses suffered by the Fund relating to the matters referred to in the Inspection Report.”

“To the extent that the governance failures outlined in the Inspection Report necessitate amendments to the rules of the Fund in order to regularise the affairs of the Fund, this must be done by the board as soon as possible. In particular, the board must address the gaps in the rules which have the potential to create blockages, e.g. the period within which vacancies must be filled must be specified in the rules.”