ZAPF conference kicks-off in Vic Falls

THE 49th annual conference of the Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds (ZAPF) kicked off in Victoria Falls yesterday as industry gurus gathered to introspect how they can come up with solutions to create value for pension funds.

The conference is taking place at a time when the country has seen another currency transition to Zimbabwe Gold from the Zimbabwe dollar.

Giving his welcome remarks at the conference yesterday, ZAPF acting chairperson Williefaston Chibaya expressed concern over currency changes.

“What we have seen is a rapidly declining pension landscape of value over the years and we had our episodes in 2008-2009,” he said.

“We had another episode in 2019 and we are likely to have another episode from 2019 to 2024 in terms of loss of value.”

Chibaya said the industry needed to take the lead in influencing decisions that affected it.

“Every time we have a currency change or announcement we lose value. So the jury is still out on the pension industry in respect to the pension conversion. [From] 2019 to 2024, we were grappling with rising inflation and current volatility,” he said.

“So are we going to see another commission of inquiry coming our way? So we have to take the lead as an industry. Ultimately the question being asked is, are we doing enough for our members and pensioners to create and preserve value?

“Or are we presiding over a dying industry? We would want to look at investment diversification, risk management, corporate governance, transparency, social responsible investing, infrastructure development and regulatory compliance. Those are some of the levers that feed into value creation,” he said.

The conference, running under the theme Value Creation for Pension Funds in Zimbabwe, ends tomorrow.-newsday