URBRA due to announce new chief executive

By David Mugabe

The Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) will introduce the new chief executive officer later this month on March 25 during a media interphase.

The identity of the new CEO has been kept close but sources say he is a Kenyan national with experience on the pensions sector. The current acting chief executive is Moses Bekabye who was formally attached to the ministry of finance.

Uganda’s retirement benefits industry sector is under reform currently. A major piece of legislation, the retirement benefits liberalization bill is under scrutiny by a select committee of parliament.

The bill seeks to open up the industry currently dominated by provident fund manager the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to private players.

This will mean workers will have more option of where to keep their retirement packages.

The regulator- URBRA established about three years ago is also currently licensing several layers of operators that will be operating under the new liberalized framework. These include administrators, custodians, trustees, auditors and fund managers.

URBRA will conduct a training on governance of retirement benefits schemes later this month.