Press Release
1. Air Namibia (Pty) Limited, the Participating Employer in the Air Namibia Retirement Fund, was wound up on 31 March 2021. The Air Namibia Retirement Fund Rules (“the Rules”) indicate that the fund should be liquidated if the employer is liquidated. Therefore, when the employer was liquidated, the fund had to be liquidated as prescribed by its rules. Because the liquidation is initiated by the trustees, it is a voluntary liquidation.
2. As a result, Air Namibia Retirement Fund is being voluntarily liquidated in terms of section 28 of the Pension Funds Act, Act 24 of 1956 (“the Act”) because of clause 10.2 of the Air Namibia Retirement Fund Rules which requires the Fund to be wound up if the employer is wound up.
3. The Liquidators, Mr. P.C. Cronje of Cronje Inc Law Practice and Mr. Jacques Oosthuizen of Namibia Liquidations were appointed by the Fund with effect from 26 July 2022. 4. Section 28 of the Act outlines the procedures to be followed and measures to be taken
when a fund voluntarily dissolves or liquidates. Section 28(7) of the Act prescribes that the Registrar shall cause to be published a notice (in the government gazette, and in one English and one Afrikaans newspapers), calling upon all interested persons to inspect the preliminary account, preliminary balance sheet and report, and for the interested parties to lodge their objections in writing with the Registrar within a period stated in the notice.
5. The public notice was published on 15 August 2023. The period specified in terms of section 28(7) of the Act within which members of the public could lodge objections lapsed on Friday, 29 September 2023. As per the public notice, objections could be lodged via
postal mail or hand delivered. In consideration of the delays associated with postal mail, it is prudent that provision is made for postal margin (i.e., objections submitted before the deadline but may not have reached the Registrar yet due to the mode of delivery).
6. The liquidation will proceed in terms of section 28(8) of the Act should there be no objections or sections 28(9 -11) of the Act should objections be lodged. In this regard the Registrar will issue the instruction to the Liquidators by Friday, 06 October 2023.
7. The members of the Air Namibia Retirement Fund are advised to contact the appointed liquidators who can advise on their internal timelines for disbursement in the event of the liquidation proceeding in terms of section 28(8).
8. NAMFISA is committed to ensuring that the provisions of the Act are complied with and that the Fund is dissolved in a proper manner and to bring it to finalization.
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