Retirement fund pioneer uses award to empower trustees
A fearless human and financial rights activist whose dreams of helping workers negotiate the best deal for their retirement years is the winner of Business Category in the Johnnie Walker® Celebrating Strides Awards 2010.
And he is using his R125 000 prize money to pay for tuition fees for eight elected pension fund trustees for a Graduate Diploma in Trusteeship at Monash University South Africa.
Tamsanqa Max Maisela, pioneered the formation of an independent company, NBC, to help protect and best benefit the unique retirement needs of black employees in apartheid South Africa nearly three decades ago.
Now he has made it his mission to train and empower elected trustees to take charge of retirement fund savings for their members.
He says many of the elected member representatives on the boards of trustees are ill equipped to best handle their pension fund members’ interests.
Maisela who helped change the face of the pension fund industry in SA is one of four category winners in the Johnnie Walker® Celebrating Strides Awards 2010.
The other winners chosen by the independent panel of judges as well as members of the public are urban designer and environmentalist Simon Nicks, author, playwright and musician Welcome Nsomi and architect Mokena Makeka.
Maisela was instrumental in helping emerging labour and liberation movements establish negotiated benefit funds for their members. All registered retirement funds in SA now require direct member representation on their board of trustees.
Having started with SA workers’ interests at heart, he now wants to drive this trend throughout the African continent and make NBC the leader in People Benefits in Africa.
His business started in the early 80’s when many black employees were either excluded from membership of retirement funds completely or were members of employer-controlled funds that failed to meet their needs and aspirations.
To change the way things were done, he actively encouraged negotiation of the retirement benefits of employees and demanded legitimate representation on management structures for retirement funds to ensure that the fair expectations of members were being met.
With its Head Office in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, NBC became an independent company about 11 years ago. Its main operation branches are in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth, with satellite offices in Polokwane, Richards Bay and Rosslyn. In addition it has established sustainable joint venture partnerships in Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and Malawi.
Maisela is a firm believer in education. He is also involved in a number of corporate social investment programmes aimed at developing opportunities for young graduates from previously disadvantaged communities – including the Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP), the NBC Learner Programme, Booksmart and the Association of South African Black Actuarial Professionals (ASABA).
Tracey Kirsten, Johnnie Walker® Marketing Manager says the Celebrating Strides Awards initiative recognizes and honours individuals who have made strides to achieve their dreams, on a personal or business level and who through their success inspire others and empower their communities.
“We had the most incredibly inspiring 12 people as finalists in each category and it’s never an easy task for judges to narrow this down to a final four. But, the criteria was very clear. Aside from having done extremely well in their particular fields, the winners’ involvement in community development was a key deciding factor.
“The awards both recognize their achievements and the prizes will hopefully act as a catalyst for aspiring entrepreneurs, artists and South Africans dreaming of a rewarding future to embark on their own journeys. “
