The United National Transport Union (UNTU) has lodged a complaint at the Council of Medical Schemes against Sizwe Medical Fund and demands the investigation must be conducted as a matter of urgency.

The Union alleges that Sizwe’s voting process of its newly elected trustees was irregular and unduly after most of the newly elected trustees happened to be shop stewards of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) specifically in the Eastern Cape.

If these allegations are proven, it will be unfair and unconstitutional because it will limit and compromise the quality of running an objective board in the best interest of the fund and ultimately in the best interest of its members. The quality of being objective is in contravention of the rules of the scheme.

At the annual general meeting of the fund, the newly elected trustees deliberately kept silent on their involvement in NUMSA investments made to Sechaba Medical Solutions, who is the current administrator to Sizwe Medical Fund through their organisational financial arm NUMSA Investment Company (NIC), which is an investment arm that was started by the National Manufacturing Workers Investment Trust in 1997.

This is yet another contravention of the rules of Sizwe which clearly state that "Members of the board must avoid conflicts of interest, and must declare any interest they may have in any particular matter serving before the board".

UNTU believes that the newly elected “NUMSA-board” will not be able to exercise their impartiality and neutrality as they largely have vested unscrupulous interest in the Fund and that is to protect their investment that was made by NUMSA's investment arm into Sechaba Medical Solutions, the administrator to Sizwe Medical Fund.

UNTU believes this will be in contravention with the fund rule namely "the board is responsible for the proper and sound management of the scheme in terms of these rules".
With the 60% controlling share, it is safe to say that NUMSA will be bound to protect its investment through every non-objective measure available. UNTU believe this will be yet another contravention of Sizwe’s rules.

Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU, says the Union believes NUMSA has an unfair advantage as it has access to Sechaba Medical Solutions and to its in-house brokerage called NUMSA Financial Services (NFS).

“UNTU believes the Council of Medical Schemes should investigate allegations and declare the elections of the trustee null and void if the allegations are proven to be correct,” says Harris.

 

Issued by UNTU