The Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) says it will construction of a shopping mall worth spend 72 million United States dollars along the Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka’s Longacres residential area.
PSPF Chief Executive Dr Richard Mwiinga disclosed in an interview that the project to include office space and a hotel is expected to be completed mid-2019.
Dr Mwiinga further revealed that the ground breaking of the project will be launched next week on Tuesday the 23rd of May 2017.
He hinted that the project has so far reached 8 percent completion with the contractor he did not name.
Dr Mwiinga said the completion of the project targeted to take a 30 months period will help to create streams of cash follows for pensioners that contribute with the fund.
He explained the development is part of PSPF ‘s vision to grow its investment base.
And Dr Mwiinga said the institution is determined to create wealth for its members hence its decision to invest various capital projects.
He stressed that the institution wants its members to earn a good return when they retire.
Meanwhile, The Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) has unveiled its new logo with a commitment to provide quality service to its serving members.
Speaking during the launch of the new brand identity, PSPF Board Chairman Moses Banda said the new logo portrays the quality service the Fund offers to pensioners and administrators of deceased estates.
Mr Banda says his institution has been making efforts to improve the livelihood of its members through the provision of enhanced service delivery.
He disclosed that the Fund is now able to pay pensioners within 30 days of receiving files from the various ministries.
Mr Banda stressed that the institution does want its members to degenerate into destitutes.
The PSPF Board Chairman disclosed that the institution is now offering loans to serving members to buy or build houses while they are still in employment.
Mr Banda said the PSPF wants its members to construct houses before they retire using their retirement benefits.
He reiterated that the Fund will not relent in upholding its promise of providing sustainable pension benefits to each of its members.
72 million for a mall by a professional fund with a board.
72 million per kilometers for RDA, whose office at state house
Please just pay the pensioners their dues. This is all about contracts and cutting deals. Stop that nonsense of building shopping mall, Lusaka has enough, especially under the current hardship brought by the boat. The boat is all about corruption and putting no money in people’s pockets.
What’s this obsession with shopping malls coming from?
We need imvestimemt in manufacturing industries first…where people will be making money to go and eventually spend at shopping malls.
Priorities are indeed topsy-turvy in zambia
I can see the logic, Gen, I really can, but I think the best answer might come from a mixed strategy. Manufacturing yes, but everything cannot go on hold while that is built up. What about the future manufacturing engineers who as students might need a job in a mall to pay towards their studies? What about the foreign tourists who want to go shopping while they stay on vacation? I think we will need a spread of strategies to leverage the whole economy, not just one sector. And if enough money has gone into malls already, you are right we need a supply of Zambian made products using Zambian resources to add value. But the key to all of this is to build up the foundation, which is still the rural villager, then everything else will follow.
Totally agree with @ Sad. Please pay the pensioners and stop this nonsense. Why not investi in putting up a smelter in the Copperbelt or North Western province to smelt our own copper. This is a more progressive and pragmatic idea as it will create more permanent jobs and spread the wealth. A mall is just cosmetic; a conduit for embezzelement as the construction costs will be corriptly doubled and paid as kick-backs; exactly what happened during the construction of Levy Junction Mall through a company called ZCon which has since gone under.
This obsession for building Mall after mall after mall (all in the same area, east of lsk) which sell 75% South African finished products, 25% Chinese made plastic toys. Even potatoes & salt are imported.
Let’s invest in manufacturing, food processing, hospitality etc. sectors which will create real jobs for our youth instead of creating jobs for Xenophobic RSA youths & ma tu chinese.
Your analysis my friend is above the current thinking. Abena globo…
Better to construct markets which provide employment to women, chicken farmers, fishermen, vegetable farmers, grain farmers, etc.
Lack of direction by current crop of leaders are pushing our youth into vices like drugs, crime & prostitution
Haha, the idiocy of investing in Malls instead of factories.Zambians wake up lets invest in things that require real brains to run not simple structures where you just sit back and collect rent.
shopping malls have provided employment and right now trade is the best option for Zambia.infact we have little shopping malls around.which industries would you like the pensions fund to invest in that would generate the much needed profits? the cant go into farming cause that’s seasonal and if we have bad weather or drought then pensions money goes,atleast with a hotel you can make Lusaka a conference tourism venue like Durban and generate money like that.so we shouldn’t have such little visions but look at the big picture
I accept that shopping malls might seem crazy to some, especially if they are selling foreign goods, and yes it would be far better to build up manufacturing for export. But think about it, of all the things to invest in it is hardly the worst. Western Europeans are struggling hard to get their pension money disinvested from things like the global arms industry, dirty unsustainable fossil fuels, and all manner of things that add to the world’s troubles. Zambians can afford to be proud of their peaceful witness to the world, of not warmongering themselves or by proxy, and if there really is a better option than shopping malls (even if it’s a diverse mix of investment) let’s make a good case for it backed up by facts and figures rather than criticising for the sake of it.
Sounds like a Plan. But economic health changes, let’s hope this investment into shopping malls does not tank by the time the beneficiaries reach retirement.
I was a civil servant from 1979 to 1996. I need my money with interest and dividends since without consulting me youre now putting it in construction. I’m only coming for my money this month cos I’ve been very busy.
I also observe that ” the file has gone missing” was one excuse I met every week as a civil servant. It is a cancer in the Zambia civil service. If the public service commission is to be seen to be serious it should end the scourge of files going missing
Another Mall??? This is now becoming boring! We are no longer excited about such developments..Lusaka already has about 15 shopping malls including the two at airport turn off. Is this the only business option for one to invest in? We are really so shallow in our approach. Ba Zambia.. SMH.
My concern with PSPF right now is that they are giving out loans at exorbitant interest rates with extended loan tenures to civil servants without fully explaining the terms, the rates or why that has happened and it affects alot of people who were supposed to retire at 55 before govt extended term. Very unfair boz and pia really need to look at what is happening there…
why malls instead of manufacturing factories,you pipo are mad and i dont know who advises ECL coz what we need right now are industires to bulit or revitalize them especially in NDOLA and CB as whole.We nee DUNLOP to come back now that we have more cars here in zambia that industry is needed,COLGATE PALMOLIVE, LIVERBROTHER, JOHNSON & JOHN just to mention a few that we need this time round not MALLS please.Tell ECL to facilitate the opening of these industry that will a plus on PF government and that is my free advise dont say i didnt tell you other the advisers for the PRESIDENT are all dull people or to say the least they are not educated including AMOS CHAND coz AMOS should help the PRESIDENT to think outside the box .NOT WASTING MONEY ON BUILDING MALLS
I tend to disagree, zamzam. It might seem appealing to invite multinationals to invest in Zambian jobs, but aren’t we falling into the same old trap? The Dunlops of this world did not come from nowhere. They were started by entrepreneurs who saw a need that they could fulfill, it’s that simple. So why can’t Zambians do this? Is African inventiveness inferior? Of course not. Let us instead build up Zambian entrepreneurs so that tomorrow some of those big companies will be Zambian. It will be tough to do, but it isn’t impossible. We need to believe in ourselves and not look to the big men who come with briefcases full of money and a pile of promises to sort out our problems.
There is a company called zamcapitol enterprise owned by the Zambian government, this is a well equipped engineering company which needs an injection of capital, how ever the company suffers from very poor management board organisation, Morden approach to business and lack of new ideas and business re-organisation by the people entrusted to run it. An injection of that kind of money into this company can jump start production 10times. But first the government have to hand it over to the private sector who can do business in a morden way, why allow all those quality tools and machines roting.