Financial forecasts at the 6th Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme (MURBS) Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in October 2016 were noncommittal especially in the wake of the February 2016 presidential election in Uganda and the then upcoming Kenyan General Election in August 2017. Trustees in their remarks then braced attendees for the worst performance, especially since the East African equity markets, which hold a substantial amount of the Scheme’s investments, are dominated by foreign players. These closely monitor the regional political climate and are known to withdraw their investments whenever any political event that will likely affect the markets looms. The situation was not helped by failing commercial banks in the region and conflict in South Sudan.

Fortunately, whereas the markets behaved as predicted, MURBS’ fund value grew by 34% from UGX 78.2billion as at 30th June 2016 to UGX 104.5billion as at 30th June 2017, thanks largely to retiree contributions and recovery of UGX 10billion as partial settlement of outstanding retirement benefits both from Makerere University.  Addressing Members at the 7th AGM, held on Thursday 26th October 2017, the Chairperson-elect, Board of Trustees Mr. Wilber Grace Naigambi also noted that the Scheme made net returns on investments worth UGX 12.5billion compared to UGX 3.5billion the previous year. “This performance was driven mainly by a positive performance in fixed income owing to high interest rates prevailing on government securities” explained the Chairperson. Government securities in the form of treasury bonds and bills account for approximately 72% of the Scheme’s total investments.

The Scheme’s membership also grew from 3,301 members the previous financial year to 3,763 members. The Chairperson in his remarks introduced the MURBS Departmental Ambassadors Programme, aimed at enhancing the Scheme’s governance by directly involving members who are trained and exposed to the operations of MURBS. “These volunteers will assist with clarifying informal queries from members at departmental level and they will form a team from which potential trustees can be identified and mentored” said Mr. Naigambi.

MURBS emerged winner of the Retirement Benefits Schemes category of the Financial Reporting (FiRe) Award 2016. At the 7th AGM, the Chairperson Mr. Naigambi presented the FiRe Award 2016 to members present. MURBS remains the top institution in this category thanks largely to the work by the Audit Committee headed by Mr. David Ssenoga. Mr. Ssenoga informed the AGM that a new format of the Auditor’s report has since been adopted and the Scheme reasonably complied with new financial reporting guidelines as issued by the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA). He further noted that the Scheme duly complies with all Income Tax Requirements and reassured the AGM that MURBS maintains a meticulous track record of all owed to it by the sponsor Makerere University.

The 7th MURBS AGM held in the main hall was a well-attended affair with representation from both University Leadership and staff associations. The days emcee, Mr. Louis Kakinda often used the breaks in between sessions to introduce key members of the University leadership and staff associations. In attendance were; Mr. Bruce Kabaasa-The Chairperson Appointments Board, who represented Eng. Dr. Charles Wana-Etyem, the Chairperson University Council, Ag. Director of Human Resources-Mrs. Dorothy Senoga Zake, Deputy Dean of Students-Mr. Stephen Kateega, members of Council and staff.

Earlier, the Secretary to the Board of Trustees-Dr. John Kitayimbwa had introduced the new Trustees as appointed on 1st April 2017. These are; The Chairperson-Mr. Wilber Grace Naigambi, Mr. John Peter Okello and Mrs. Dorothy Nannozi Kabanda. In addition to Dr. Kitayimbwa who was reappointed as Secretary to the Board, Mr. William Ndoleriire also returned as one of five Trustees of the Board. Mr. David Ssenoga and Dr. Saul Hannington Nsubuga by virtue of their being Chairperson and Member of the Audit Committee respectively are in addition co-opted Members of the Board.

In his address to the AGM and in response to some of the questions raised by members especially regarding the safety of their investments in seemingly unpredictable equity markets, Dr. Kitayimbwa reassured the gathering that the Scheme’s fund managers; Sanlam Investments East Africa and GenAfrica Asset Managers, are some of the best in the region and keenly follow market trends to return the best value on investment.

“All investments made by the fund managers on behalf of MURBS are informed by an actuary’s inventory” said Dr. Kitayimbwa. “Our investments are also guided by an investment horizon; which in our case, based on the average age of our membership, is 15years. We have to ensure that whereas we seeking the best investments to grow the fund value, we maintain a certain level of liquidity to pay members who are eligible to leave the scheme” he further explained.

Responding to members who also felt that it was unfair to struggle with constantly rising interest rates on loans taken from commercial banks and yet they could borrow against their benefits portfolio, Dr. Kitayimbwa shared that MURBS is regulated by URBRA which has strict conditions under which a member may access their benefits, the key being upon retirement. He however reassured the AGM that URBRA is fronting the Retirement Benefits Sector Liberalisation Bill, which will hopefully provide for more flexible ways of accessing benefits to support mortgages, foot treatment costs and other needs. He further restored confidence in the members that there benefits are protected by law and in the unforeseeable event that the Scheme’s bankers were to go under, the regulator would first and foremost ensure that retirement benefits are secured before any other depositors are considered for compensation.

To reiterate Dr. Kitayimbwa’s point, Prof. Jean Barya-MURBS’ Senior Legal Counsel advised Scheme members to take keen interest and actively participate in the debates around the Retirement Benefits Sector Liberalisation Bill and the National Health Insurance Scheme bill. “Education and Health are two of the largest expenditures that we incur in life. You therefore need to be interested in these bills because we shall all benefit if they are passed in a proper manner.”

In closing the 7th AGM, the Chairperson Mr. Naigambi thanked all members for sparing time to attend the event in large numbers and urged them to further study the report they had received as well as all information on the MURBS website. “I encourage you to embrace the idea of additional voluntary contributions (AVC) in addition to the 5% by Makerere to further boost your benefits at the time of retirement” he concluded.

Article by Public Relations Office