The sunset years of millions of employees is at risk following investment blunder by the very agency meant to safeguard and grow their nest eggs.
Flagged by the Auditor-General Edward Ouko in his annual general reports, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has hit hard ground in projects running into billions of shillings with legal and other barriers occasioned by bad decisions.
The auditor, for example, could not understand why NSSF sold land in November 2011 and only earned a tenth of the sale price without taking any action to get the rest of the money paid.
The 69.16 acres in Mavoko municipality were sold after it was subdivided into seven plots of 9.88 acres each to reap from the budding real estate boom that was fast rising then.
While the sale price was set at Sh116 million, NSSF could not explain why it had only received a tenth and seven years later, nothing is happening.
“Only Sh12.6 million or 10 percent was paid vide Miscellaneous Receipt M010022315 dated August 23, 2011. The balance of Sh113.4 million which was to be paid within 90 days from the date of execution of the agreement has not been settled to date. No reasons were provided for the failure to terminate the sale agreement upon the expiry of the 90 days’ execution period provided for in the contract agreement,” Mr Ouko wrote.
NSSF may have made much more money since the land has now appreciated many times in the seven years. The auditors were also concerned that should the sale dispute be taken to court, NSSF will still pay more in legal fees.
AMS Properties Limited, the real estate firm that bought the land from NSSF, said they were yet to be shown the exact boundaries on the land as was agreed in the 2011 sale deal.
The plot’s reference number also changed in two different survey plans with Plots L.R Nos. 20183, 20184 and part of 20181 overlapping with L.R. Nos. 22067, 22092 and other plots, according to the lawyers representing the real estate developer.
AMS also said there are squatters on the plots, making it had to use them and hence says it has suffered instead.