By SYLVESTER MWALE –

PUBLIC Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) chief executive officer, Thomas Phiri, has been suspended following allegations of corruption in the management of K18.8 million investment at PG Bisonite.
Sources at the PSPF and public relations manager Alex Chileshe, confirmed during the week that Mr Phiri has been suspended to pave way for thorough investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The decision to relieve Mr Phiri was arrived at during the fourth extraordinary board meeting which was held on July 18, 2014.
The ACC is investigating Mr Phiri over abuse of authority of office in relation to the management of the K18,833,252,245 invested in PG Bisonite Zambia in mid 2000s with the aim of increasing the resource base.
Board chairperson Moses Banda who also released a statement during the week announced that Richard Mwiinga has since been appointed to act in the absence of Mr Phiri for administrative convenience.
“The suspension is aimed to pave way for investigations by the ACC into allegations of abuse of office,” Dr Banda said.
“Mr Phiri will remain suspended for the duration of the investigations being conducted by the ACC.”
Sources said the investigation by the ACC centres on the K18,833,252,245 which was injected into PG Bisonite Zambia  but did not yield dividends for the PSPF.
The decision had followed the approval by the PSPF board to takeover the PG Bisonite Zambia, a Copperbelt based wood processing company with the aim of increasing the value of pensioners’ funds.
The investment was also aimed at enabling the PSPF to meet the payment of pension on time. But the private company is believed to have failed to bring any benefits to the institution.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last year questioned the decision by the PSPF to pump the colossal sums of money into PG Bisonite Zambia without getting any dividends.
But Public Service Management Division Permanent Secretary Velepi Mtonga defended the investment although she admitted that the company did not perform to the Government’s expectations.
It is alleged that in order to represent the interest of the pensioners’ funds invested in the company, Mr Phiri was appointed as board chairperson of PG Bisonite.
However, he is alleged to have later engaged Kath Limited to be sales agent of PG Bisonite in its business without following tender procedure.
Documents obtained from Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) showed that Kath Limited was registered of close relatives for Mr Phiri although he did not declare interest.