The DA will fight ANC’s bid to nationalise private pensions

Reports indicate that the African National Congress (ANC) is still intent on gunning for South Africans’ hard-earned pensions and retirement funds by imposing prescribed assets.

The ANC’s treasurer-general Paul Mashatile was today quoted stating that the ANC “will investigate the introduction of prescribed assets on financial institutions’ funds to unlock resources for investments in social and economic development”.

Due to their failures in government, the ANC is now set on forcing the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and private pension funds, through legislation, to free up capital for bankrupt state owned entities by using South Africans’ pensions and investments.

This is exactly the desperate tactics used by the apartheid regime when they could not raise capital in the international markets.

The failing ANC’s 24 years of corruption, mismanagement and their lack of political will has resulted in the public coffer running empty and investment drying up.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland’s memorandum raising concerns over corruption, is proof of this. Even foreign investors recognise South Africa has an ANC problem.

Prescribing how financial institutions and pension funds must invest the life savings of pensioners is not the solution to the country’s economic woes. It will only give the ANC another bite at the corruption cherry.

The failing ANC government poses a great threat to South Africans’ pension funds and the Democratic Alliance will explore every avenue to fight for the protection of pensioners.

Statement issued by Alf Lees MP, DA Deputy Shadow Minister of Finance, 10 February 2019