Minister to look into fund

By PETER ESILA
RURAL and Economic Development Minister Jospeh Lelang will immediately look at the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to ensure it is run transparently.
“My immediate task is to make sure that the SWF comes on stream in terms of its mechanism, structure, accountability and administrative structure, and that must guide how we manage in terms of government structure, in a transparent way so that they can manage the SWF properly,” he said.
“The Sovereign Wealth Fund is an important concept that was initiated in light of the revenue from the major resource projects that we have.”
Since the Organic Law on the SWF was passed by Parliament in July 2015, and was to come into operation in 2016, it remained dormant until November 2022 when the Kumul Consolidated Holdings Limited deposited K5.6 million into the fund.
Lelang said: “The policy has been made that 6 or 7 per cent of all our proceeds from the major resource projects will go into SWF for future generations,” Lelang said.
“When the mineral and petroleum resources are gone, what else will be left?
“As a resource-rich nation, we must think about the future and the SWF is a very important funding mechanism set up by the government for us to syphon off the percentage of our resources for our future generation.”
He said he needed to read the Organic Law to see the thinking behind it.
“I want to look at that and bring that to fruition quickly.
“Right now, the decision has already been made to establish it, it has been certified.”