Over 700 Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) ex-miners are demanding their pension benefits from UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema’s Saturnia Pensions Trust Fund.
However, both the UPND leader and Saturnia Pensions Trust Fund are on record that Mr. Hichilema is neither a shareholder nor a Trustee of the Trust Fund when in 2016, 236 former BP workers had given UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema a 7 days ultimatum to pay back the K457 million owed to them by Saturnia Regna Pension Trust where he was accused of being a shareholder.
The ex-miners have complained that the Saturnia Pensions Trust Fund is abusing people rights and has induced so much suffering on the miners who worked so hard to create wealth for the country.
Speaking Sunday morning during a press briefing,KCM ex-miners Chairman Mr Ilunga Kasompe demanded that companies owned by Mr Hichilema releases the title deeds for the all properties belonging to KCM pension scheme and that all pensions for serving miners be transferred from Saturnia to NAPSA with immediate effect.
He explained that the pension scheme which was originally being run by Mukuba pension was however moved to Saturnia with new developments now indicating that the scheme is now being run by Benefits Consulting Services Limited Trustees, a company that happens to be Mr. Hichilema’s.
He further explained that the company decided to only give retired miners 50% of their pension contributions and then forced miners to later buy annuities from Mr. Hichilema’s company Sanlam, a move he has described as “a criminal form of insider trading”.
Mr. Kasompe stated that the problem they are in is the offshoot of the failures of the mismanaged privatization process and said the miners have since joined other stakeholders who have launched a campaign to look into the matter which unscrupulous businessmen took advantage of.
“We demand an immediate account of the offshore investments that were made for KCM pensions scheme from 2000 up to 2018 as well as an immediate investigation into the conduct of the KCM pensions scheme board of trustees, the trade union and the KCM management,” he said.
Mr. Kasompe who called on Mr. Hichilema to fix the pension issues before talking about state matters said there is enough evidence that Mr. Hichilema’s Saturnia pensions trust fund has abused the rights of miners and is a scandal schemed and planned by these businessmen, politicians, and foreign multinational companies to trap and embarrass the PF government.
“We have information to confirm that money was moved out of the KCM pension scheme to Sanlam properties.No Zambian will ever benefit from such investments and that is why we cannot accept any money to go to Sanlam.Time has come to correct the situation as this impunity should not be tolerated” Mr Kasompe said and questioned why Saturnia should be allowed to change the rules as it wishes as if there is no government in the country.
He further stated that Saturnia is destroying a lot of lives including in the courts of law as records are there those fellow pensioners who have been struggling in court for 20 years and cannot get their money because of Saturnia.
In 2016, Saturnia Pension Fund clarified that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was neither a shareholder nor a Trustee of the Trust Fund after media reports that Saturnia Pension Trust Fund has failed to pay the BP Zambia ex-employees their retirement benefits and that Mr. Hichilema was a major stakeholder in the Trust Fund.
At the time Board of Trustees Chairperson Doreen Kabunda said that the reports were false, explaining that the Trust Fund has never been sued by any ex-employees of Puma Energy Plc which is formerly BP Plc, although they are aware of the ongoing action in the Courts of law between a group of ex-employees of BP Plc and their former employer over Pension Benefits.
Ms. Kabunda stated the Trust Fund is not and has never been a party of this court action, adding that Saturnia Trust Fund is a distinctively separate and independent Trust Fund and should not be confused with any private entities or companies that may bear a similar name or address.
Mrs. Kabunda further said at the time that Saturnia had no share capital because it is a registered multi-employer Trust Fund.
Ignorance will kill some people in your country,,, help them please,,,HH has nothing to do with whatever is written in this Article…
Help them find the right companies that owes them..
4 years some body said that it is a sin to be Zambian, I was upset. But now I start to believe that it is curse. Zambians niukwalola umwela. Ex-miners now demanding benefits from HH? Mwati bukopo bwamusango shani ubu?
These guys are not fools they know what they are talking about.It is like HH is the main share holder in Saturnia regna
What the f#*k? Can someone translate all this gibberish for me? The desperation of the PF and Lungu to tarnish HH’s image has reached dangerous levels.
HH and UPND need to work extra hard to get on top of all this propaganda machine by the PF. When are they going to start sponsoring news articles to air all the corruption scandals of Lungu and his minions?
By the way UPND also need to go hard and find a meaningful solution to the rigging and manipulation of elections by the PF… just believing they will win with this desperation from Lungu isn’t good enough.
IT IS GOOD THAT HH IS KNOW AS A FARMER AND OWNS HIS OWN RANCH. IT IS SHAMEFUL WHEN PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA DO NOT KNOW THE OWNERS OF THE COMPANY WHICH YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE.
IF PEOPLE KNEW EXACTLY HH’S COMPANY/IES I TRUST THEY COULD HAVE LOOTED THEM BUT PRAISE GOD THAT ABANTU BASATAFYE NOT KNOWING IF HH IS OPERATING IN ZAMBIA OR OUTSIDE ZAMBIA.
Ignorance has no defence.
YOU CANT CRY TO ECL WHO IS YOUR PRESIDENT IN STATE HOUSE BUT YOU ARE CALLING SOMEONE WHO IS NOT YOUR EMPLOYER?
KCM IS BEING RUN BY PF AND WHY NOT ASK LEADERS OF TODAY WHO ARE STEALING BROAD DAY LIGHT AND ACCUSE SOMEONE INNOCENT WHO YOU WANT COURTS TO KILL TIME SO THAT BY THE TIME YOUR EYES WILL BE WIDE OPEN THEY HAVE LOOTED EVEN THAT WHICH WAS LEFT FOR YOUR INFANTS?
Bashimaini efyo babebela ati mafyontini.
PLEASE SUE THE COMPANY AND YOU WILL SEE YOUR MONEY COMING AND IF YOU DONT SEE IT THEN KNOW THAT ABALELYAMO NIBA PF.
PF DO NOT CARE AND WILL NEVER HELP YOU COME OUT OF YOUR MISERY.
HH will never accept any involvement in anything. One day he will be asked whether or not his name is Hakainde Hichilema and he is going to deny it.
Ignorance is vice. Vice is wickedness. This is just beyond comprehension. Who is deceiving these people and building them up for hatred against an innocent man.
Can you blame me if I bank my money offshore?.Your money is not safe to invest in this benighted country
The truth always comes out. We are now learning more and more every day about the so called self proclaimed self made crooked billionaire hh
Can HH also pay all those affected by the dissolution of Zambia airways ???
Now we know how somebody set up those offshore accounts; it wasn’t just hard working, was it?
Its better to let the accused person to respond than speaking on his behalf. The person in question is alive and he is a politician who knows how to respond to any querries. What is wrong with HH/UPND cardres? Let him explain to the miners his association with Saturnia Regna. Don’t answer for him.
Now HH must pay ex-miners! Really? I love my country, Zambia. But I must admit we are so gullible! We fall for any stup1d theory politicians throw at us and we embrace it as fact. Sometimes our level of thinking is just so embarrasing!
Just you wait. The internet is a hydra. You cannot control it and you will not harness those lies that you are unleashing when they come trotting back with reinforcements. Those of you peddling these lies will wish you never started this. Kaleza. I warned you about this.
The Adviser.
Read the blog several times.You will learn that the LT article asks and then answers its own questions.There is no need to ask anyone again. This is just one of the fours pronged smear campaign launched against one man.My fear is that some of you are now being taken along.The right and vital questions are not being asked.Zambian politics need a much more intelligent conversation. Hygiene.
Iiddiioocy and envy will kill some dogs in this country, there are some bigger dogs ignorantly pushing this agenda yet it will turn to mashinsha.
Let these rabid pf mongrels continue barking. They will get tired and go to sleep on an empty stomach. Kikikikiki
@Stupid Iddiotts, people now know that whenever you see an insult it is coming from people across the fence. Their demigod recently insulted in front of women and children. Whoever told you people insults will win you votes.
The problem I see is there always attempt to explain issues with technicalities. To be clear trust is only framework. The fund is what is made of contributions and its owned by trustees on behalf of beneficiaries. People who make money from contributions are fund managers and that’s Benefits Consulting. Its meaningless to say someone is not trustee or shareholder in fund. Is he however shareholder of Benefits Consultants who actually call shots on how funds are managed? Let’s get the truth please. God Bless Zambia
It is wrong to call people ignorant how do you say that, people are intelligent either you like it or not they cannot just wake up and choose someone to accuse there must be some thing you are not seeing which they are seeing they are as dull as you think.
Why do you think they are claiming that you have investigate more before you come to your simple conclusion.
In bemba they say the is no smoke with out fire just wait for it, people have access to most hidden world that information will speak for them.
These ex miners are too dull to realize they are just bring used to forward someone’s political agenda. At this rate they will continue crying until they die without ever seeing their money.
It is very shameful and embalancing to hear even who are not ex-exminers comment on this story,these ex-miners knows what they are talking about and the only people who are ignorant are those who does not know what they are talking about.
These ex-miners are actually represented by miners’ union leaders on the boards of these pension funds. How do they brief their members about their social security on retirement?
Never underestimate the power of f00ls in large numbers!
It’s a sin to be Zambian, a country that is now more divided than Africa!
Too many transgression committed against the elite people of the Republic of Zambia from this kleptoh².
With all this negative cloud and horrifying past why does this nigga want to rule over us?
I once defended a chap against an accusation that he had bonked someone. I defended the chap to the hilt. A couple of months later he admitted having done the trick.
From that day, I quit defending anyone if I personally was not present. I don’t care what they say. They need to clean up after themselves.
I think uwalowa abena zambia alifwa…. when are we going to be serious as zambian? This is stupidity of the highest order, whoever adviser the ex- mine to claim their benefits from HH must be a satanist. I cant be surprised to learn that PF has a hand in this nonsense, just after a person who swindled the window without any sense of shame said something during campaign and passed through copperbelt.
Shikalume those are eyes mwe. Kwati ni owl
Who will pay Cold Storage Board of Zambia retrenched workers????
So that’s what Lungu went to spend tax payers money on promoting nonsense.
Sela babombe abayesheba incheto, owe pompwe.
ba mwankole bayamba nafuti. these miners should ask their brothers and sisters from the civil service still waiting (20 yrs later) how they are or are they going to ask HH to them also? malabishi
Check their bank accounts
@Kaizer Zulu, @Justin Mbewe has asked you to explain your wealth, lack of Tax returns at ZRA among other things before PF came into power etc. I was hoping at some point you respond affirmatively. Not with your usual insults and immature responses. To date you have not responded. I think these were fair and simple questions anyone of sound mind would ask just as you have been inquiring of HH. I too want to know now. Who are you/ where were you before PF? A little verifiable back ground on yourself would be helpful Sir. Thank you.