I Have Read with Questionable WOW'ness (Is This Serious?)

Monkey Business at VNPF [Vanuatu National Provident Fund]

Talemaot has received worrying reliable information about Questionable Management Practices at the Vanuatu National Provident Fund.

Management Remuneration:

The current General Manager and Human Resource Director are being paid at levels never before seen at VNPF. The current salary levels plus benefits for the two positions are now over 700,000vatu / month and over 500,000vatu / month respectively.

It is questionable whether these remuneration levels were approved by the VNPF Board.

Investment Decisions:

The VNPF Management has recently made questionable ‘investment’ decisions resulting in the institution now conducting business activities that are beyond its legal mandate.

1. The first ‘investment’ involves running an animal farm out of land purchased at Bouffa, Efate. The land had originally been purchased by VNPF for a housing scheme for members but converted to a farm after the new General Manager’s appointment. Apparently, the General Manager’s spouse (a senior officer of the Quarantine Department) prepared the farm project proposal – whether this was done freely or on a consultancy basis paid for by VNPF is unknown.
2.  The second ‘investment’ involves co-financing the Nasama Resort at Pango, Efate. Management decided to finance the establishment of the resort using a construction company owned by a certain (late) former Board Member and Chair of the VNPF Investment Committee. Incidentally, workers in the construction company were not registered with VNPF so when a fatal accident (gas explosion) occurred, the two local workers who tragically lost their lives had no VNPF savings for surviving relatives.

The above two ‘investments’ mean that on top of managing members’ savings, the VNPF effectively runs a farm and is a business partner in a tourist resort. Such commercial activities are outside of VNPF’s core business and legal mandate.

Again it is questionable whether the ‘investments’ were made with proper approval from the VNPF Board.

Staff Recruitment and Political Interests:

Under the new General Manager, the VNPF has now become a safety net for ex-Telecom Vanuatu Ltd staff and her close associates. (The current General Manager was formerly Chief Accountant at Telecom Vanuatu Limited.)

1. The number of ex-TVL staff recruited at VNPF has grown steadily since the GM’s appointment and range from the current Human Resource Director to the ex-TVL handyman who transferred to VNPF on a monthly salary of 100,000vatu+ per month. (Bizarrely, VNPF continues to hire casual labourers to carry out jobs that should be the handyman’s responsibility.)
2. The Human Resource Director (who is also a Finance Official of Prime Minister Sato Kilman’s Peoples Progressive Party) failed in her attempt to introduce a new HR condition to allow staff to contest political elections and return to VNPF if they are unsuccessful. (Perhaps she has grand plans to contest the upcoming General Elections.) Her attempt failed because the VNPF Staff Manual clearly states that any VNPF staff wanting to contest political elections must first resign from the institution. Considering the historical detrimental effects of political interference at VNPF, it makes sense that the Staff Manual condition continues to apply.
3. The sister of Prime Minister Sato Kilman, President of People’s Progressive Party was recently employed at the VNPF, reportedly after the recruitment assessment process was doctored at the instruction of the Human Resource Director to give her higher points than another higher scoring applicant. 

Questions remain about whether the VNPF Board is aware of these issues.

VNPF vehicles

Senior management at VNPF have ordered the removal of the VNPF name from the number plates of office vehicles used by management. Presumably, this is so that the public will be unable to identify the vehicles outside of working hours or during times of personal use. 

Again, it is questionable whether the VNPF Board is aware of this.

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VNPF BOARD & MEMBERS

Is the VNPF Board aware of the above issues? Will they hold Management accountable to its members as they are supposed to?

VNPF Financial Members are encouraged to demand answers from the powers that be at VNPF. After all, the funds held and managed by VNPF belong to you!