Insurance24 Staff Writer
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has commenced disbursement of US$200 each to 8,600 eligible pensioners as compensation for losses arising from Zimbabwe’s 2019 currency reforms.
The payments are being funded by a US$1.75 million dividend received from Mutapa Gold Resources, with beneficiaries receiving the money through their EcoCash wallets.
IPEC said the current phase targets pensioners selected through a means-tested process that prioritised those who received the lowest benefits at the time of the 2019 currency conversion, starting with the oldest.
The Commission said the payments would not cover all affected pensioners at once, with further disbursements dependent on the receipt of additional dividends.
Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the arrangement was established to provide a funding source for compensating pensioners affected by the currency reforms.
“The allocation of shareholding in Kuvimba Mining House to IPEC on behalf of pensioners in 2020, now Mutapa, was intended to provide a source of funding for compensation through dividend payments and this will be done on an ongoing basis,” he said.
Ncube said the latest disbursement demonstrated how the arrangement was providing continued support to affected pensioners.
While acknowledging that the payments could not fully restore the value lost, he said they represented Government’s efforts to mitigate the unintended consequences of the currency reforms on long-term contractual savings.
IPEC Commissioner Dr Grace Muradzikwa said the current payments covered the next group of eligible pensioners following an earlier compensation exercise in 2021 and 2022.
The Commission received its first dividend of US$400,000 from Kuvimba Mining House in 2021, which enabled it to compensate 4,000 pensioners.
Muradzikwa said eligible beneficiaries had already started receiving the US$200 payments through their EcoCash wallets and could cash out the funds at any EcoCash kiosk.
She emphasised that the current compensation programme specifically addressed losses arising from the 2019 currency reforms and was separate from compensation for losses linked to currency changes before 2009.
“The pre-2009 compensation process will proceed once the relevant compensation regulations are gazetted,” she said.
In 2020, Government allocated IPEC a five per cent shareholding in Kuvimba Mining House on behalf of pensioners affected by the 2019 currency reforms, with compensation intended to be financed through dividend payments.
Following the unbundling of Kuvimba Mining House in early 2026, IPEC’s shareholding was transferred directly into five specialised entities: Mutapa Gold Resources, Mutapa Base Metals, Mutapa Energy Minerals, Mutapa Platinum Group and Mutapa Frontier.
The dividend from Mutapa Gold Resources is providing the funding for the latest round of payments, while future compensation will depend on further dividend receipts.
