eBusiness Weekly
Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE – Insurance and pensions sector regulator, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) recorded a 12 percent bump in revenues to US$8,86 million for the year ended December 31, 2018
IPEC is wholly funded through levies from insurance premiums and pension contributions.
Said board chairperson Mr Albert Nduna:
“The Commission’s total revenue for the twelve months ended 31 December 2018 was US$8,86 million, a 12 percent growth from the US$7,9 million realised in the prior year.”
He was giving an update on the financial performance of the Commission during its inaugural annual general meeting (AGM) earlier today.
“During this review period, the Commission managed to grow its surplus from US$5, 08 million in 2017 to US$5.5 million in 2018 on account of prudent finance management measures by IPEC.
“The Commission retained the funds to finance critical capital projects such as the planned purchasing of new offices.”
IPEC Commissioner Dr Grace Muradzikwa said the funds had been utilized for the planned purposes, with IPEC set to open offices in the central business district (CBD) this December.
The financial performance of the Commission was buoyed by a positive performance of the insurance industry, which realised a gross written premium (GWP) of US$869 million for the period under review, compared to US$660 million reported in December 2017.
However, the pensions sector underperformed, with pension contributions decreasing by 23 percent to US$335,7 million over the same period.
Meanwhile, IPEC says it expects that the promulgation of the Pensions and Provident Fund Bill will give it greater capacity to play its regulatory function better.
The Pensions and Provident Fund Bill is expected to foster better corporate governance practices within the industry while adequately providing the legal basis for a troubled entities’ resolution framework as well as increasing the commission’s enforcement powers.
“There has been a lot of questions about the status of this bill (the Pensions and Provident Fund Bills). One of the motivations, coming out of the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry was to empower of the Commission (IPEC) to be able to enforce a number of things. The bill waits gazetting, I think it’s at printing stage,” said Dr Muradzikwa at the AGM.
