THE new trustees of the Kenya Railways pension scheme want its secretariat's staff to be reduced and rental income collection streamlined to improve the financial position of the workers' scheme. At an annual general meeting held recently, the trustees of the fund who were appointed last month- Corporate & Pension Trust Services Limited- recommended a raft of measures to improve the scheme’s liquidity position and overall performance.
The trustee firm was appointed last month.The trustees want the scheme's governance structures strengthened and property disposal polices developed for due diligence and oversight when investing or divesting. “The court actions have become a stumbling block to the running of the scheme and essentially undermining efforts being taken to fulfill obligations to members,” said the chairman of the trustee firm James Olubayi.
The trustees said they are working out a formula to increase the standard minimum pension and raise other payments by a percentage to be determined later. The Kenya Railways staff retirement benefits scheme has 11,000 members and assets worth over Sh21 billion. It was set up in 2006 but has been dogged by wrangles owing to handling of its properties and finances prior to the appointment of the trustees. During the meeting, the trustee assured members that it will institute tough austerity measures to eliminate wasteful expenditure.