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The management of the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) was on the receiving end yesterday after it failed to explain to MPs the rationale behind the proposed changes that could expose the funds to fraud.
UFAA acting Chief Executive Caroline Chirchir and her team appeared before the National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee for a stakeholder engagement on the Unclaimed Financial Assets (Amendment) Bill 2023.
“This Bill has serious ramifications if passed. Could you explain to us the challenges you’ve experienced in the administration of the fund as the implementing agency that have led to this proposed amendment?” Ainamoi MP Benjamin Langat, the committee’s vice-chairperson, demanded.
However, Ms Chirchir told the committee that although UFAA was in agreement with the proposed changes, the authority “had not exhaustively” concluded discussions with the National Treasury, its parent ministry.
Ms Chirchir requested more time ‘’to conclude deliberations’’ on the matter.
This prompted the committee members, who wondered why she appeared before them on a Bill she was unaware of, to “read mischief” into the situation.
The proposed amendments seek to allow claimants to designate another individual of their choice for payment of claims.
The MPs also expressed concerns that if left unchecked, the proposed amendment, once it becomes law, could be prone to abuse, potentially paving the way for easy transfer of the proceeds of economic crimes to individuals instead of the state.
Unclaimed assets are assets that have been presumed abandoned and are unclaimed, including all income, dividends, or interest but excluding any lawful charges.
The Bill, sponsored by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah (by virtue of his position as Leader of Majority in the National Assembly), seeks to amend sections 28 and 45 of the UFAA Act to give a claimant the power to designate the payment of a claim to another person.
Clause 3 of the Bill, which amends section 28 of the UFAA Act, seeks to empower claimants to designate an alternative recipient for the payment of claims if the claimant themselves are unavailable.
Clause 4 of the Bill proposes amendments to section 45 of the Act, which previously conferred exclusive rights and privileges to the claimant for receiving the asset.
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