The Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) board, which has been crippled by months of governance disputes and failure to convene for more than six months, has been dissolved with immediate effect.
Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi announced the dissolution yesterday, saying the decision had been taken after an impasse between the ministry and some organisations and federations.
The move brings to an abrupt end the tenure of a board that had only been in office for about nine months after being appointed last year. It also comes barely a day after Parliament adopted recommendations from its portfolio committee on labour and social security calling for the reconstitution of the ENPF board following findings that it had become dysfunctional.
Buthelezi, during the press briefing, said the ENPF was a public institution entrusted with safeguarding workers’ savings and could not continue operating under circumstances that undermined its mandate.
He said the decision was informed by the need to respect the property of locals, whose retirement savings are administered by the Fund, and ensure the institution returns to serving its intended purpose.
“There has been tension between the ministry as well as other organisations and federations. Since this is a public fund intended to simplify the lives of the people and in the spirit of respecting people’s property, I have taken the decision to dissolve the board with immediate effect,” said Buthelezi.
He said government would immediately begin processes to establish a new board that would be prepared to work in the interest of the country and place the needs of contributors ahead of organisational differences.
The minister thanked the outgoing board for the period it had served despite the challenges experienced, saying government, nevertheless, believed dissolving it was necessary for the sake of progress and to minimise continued disturbances that had paralysed the institution.
He said the nation would be informed once a new board had been constituted.
The dissolution follows months of public disagreements that effectively rendered the board inoperative, with key stakeholders refusing to participate in meetings.
The governance crisis stemmed from the appointment of one of the board members, whose selection was strongly opposed by organised labour and the employers’ federation.
Business Eswatini and organised labour maintained that the appointment departed from the long-established tripartite arrangement under which the board chairpersonship rotates among government, employers and employees.
They argued that it was the employers’ turn to provide the chairperson and consequently refused to recognise the appointment.
The standoff resulted in board meetings failing to proceed for months as representatives from some social partners boycotted proceedings, leaving the Fund without effective governance despite having a legally constituted board.
The prolonged deadlock attracted the attention of Parliament, which instituted an inquiry through its portfolio committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the impasse.
Presenting its findings this week, the committee concluded that the ENPF board had become dysfunctional after failing to discharge its responsibilities for more than six months because of the unresolved governance dispute.
Among its findings, the committee determined that the appointment of the board chairperson under a ‘specialised skills’ provision was not supported by the ENPF Order and recommended that the appointment be nullified.
The committee further found that the departure from the traditional rotational arrangement had fuelled tensions between government, organised labour and employers, ultimately crippling the operations of one of the country’s most important public funds.
As a result, Parliament recommended that the Minister of Labour and Social Security reconstitute the ENPF board within seven days and further proposed amendments to the forthcoming ENPF legislation to eliminate ambiguities that could give rise to similar governance disputes in future.
Yesterday’s announcement effectively implements the substance of those recommendations, although the minister opted to dissolve the entire board rather than deal only with the disputed appointment.
The ENPF manages retirement savings for thousands of workers in both the public and private sectors, making stable governance essential to protecting contributors’ funds and ensuring timely policy decisions.
The inability of the board to meet over the past several months meant critical governance responsibilities could not be fully executed, raising concerns among stakeholders over oversight of the institution.
While Fund operations continued through management, governance experts have previously warned that prolonged board paralysis can delay strategic decisions, policy approvals and oversight functions required under the law.
The minister did not indicate when the new board would be announced, but assured the public that consultations towards establishing a new board would begin immediately.
He said the ministry’s objective was to appoint individuals who would work collectively in the national interest and restore stability to the institution.
The dissolution marks one of the most significant governance interventions at the ENPF in recent years and is expected to pave the way for a fresh start following months of disputes that spilled into Parliament and left the country’s largest retirement fund without an effectively functioning board.
Members of the disbanded ENPF board
– Derrick Shiba – Liswati, AppointedChairperson
– E.NathieDlamini–CEO of Business Eswatini, appointed Deputy Chairperson
– Makhosini Mndawe – Principal Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Security Kingdom Mamba – Acting Commissioner of Labour
– Tokkie Hou –Chairperson, Business Women Eswatini (BWE)
– PhilaMthethwa – Representative of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA)
– Wander Mkhonza – Secretary General, Amalgamated Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (ATUSWA)
– Themba Dlamini –Representative, Federation of Eswatini Business Community (FESBC)
– Phendulile Zikalala – Secretary General, Federation of Swaziland Trade Unions (FESWATU)
– KhanyisileDube – Ministry of Finance, returning to the Board
– Futhie Tembe – CEO of ENPF, serving also as Secretary to the Board
