The Sunday Mail
Business Reporter
The National Social Security Authority (NSSA), which last year embarked on a strategic drive to realign its investment portfolio through divesture, consolidation and optimisation, is now focused on sweating its assets in the property portfolio.
The compulsory pension fund last year launched a refocus strategy, starting with consolidation of investments in the banking and insurance clusters.
Notable developments on this front included the offloading of entire stakes in ZB Financial Holdings, Fidelity Life and First Capital Bank. NSSA is in the process of disposing its 32,55 percent stake in Turnall Holdings, as well as courting for a strategic partner in wholly owned National Building Society.
With the rationalisation of investments in the financial and equities market now on the home leg, NSSA’s general manager/CEO, Arthur Manase, said management was working on addressing legacy issues in the property portfolio to unlock and generate value for the benefit of its members who include pensioners and contributors.
“NSSA has historically come under fire for exhibiting a laissez-faire attitude towards management of its property portfolio, resulting in the Authority being prejudiced of millions of dollars through bad deals. Examples that are often cited by critics include the NSSA Beitbridge Hotel, Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo, as well as St. Tropez in Harare,” said Mr Manase who took over the reins as substantive general manager in January this year, after having acted in the same capacity for 12 months.
He said plans to operationalise Ekusileni Medical Centre post Covid-19 pandemic were well underway. Towards this, NSSA late last year invested $50 million to help capacitate the facility that is currently designated as a Covid-19 treatment centre.
After the pandemic, Ekusileni will be converted into a training centre for medical specialists, in collaboration with the University of Science and Technology.
On Friday NSSA published an invitation to tender for “Proposed highest and best adaptive re-use and renovation of St. Tropez apartments” that are situated in Harare’s Eastlea suburb.
St. Tropez is strategically positioned along Samora Machel Avenue, next to a major golf course. It is also in the vicinity of a site earmarked for the development of a five-star international hotel and shopping mall.
Mr Manase singled out two other properties in Harare that were due for major developments.
“We are working on developing a multi-functional conference centre at Stand 71 Borrowdale Brook Township, better known a Borrowdale Country Manor. This is being done to derive value from the property, which is currently being leased out for a song. Imagine the current tenants are collectively paying a paltry amount equivalent to US$439 in rentals for a property that measures approximately 13,5 hectares and is currently valued at US$2,395 million.
“These are some of the ills that the new NSSA seeks to correct because we have a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard the funds we manage on behalf of members and beneficiaries who include pensioners, the disabled, widows and orphans,” said Mr Manase.
NSSA is working on establishing an upmarket cluster housing scheme on Stand 14 of Lot C Borrowdale Estate (49 Borrowdale Road), measuring just over 15ha which has an estimated current market value of US$2,4 million.
“Imagine someone paying US$1 500 in monthly rentals for such a strategically positioned plot. Moreover, the property comprises a single storey main dwelling house, two cottages, horse stables, a swimming pool and an all-weather tennis court.
“Our pensioners who are currently fighting for improved benefits would lynch us if we did not do something to address such anomalies.
“Our overall strategy for the property portfolio is to divide it into different asset classes comprising commercial, residential and agricultural. We believe this will enable
