Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) has been ordered to provide statements of deductions from beneficiaries of the PCK Staff retirement scheme for the past seven years after trustees of the scheme complained of unremitted dues amounting to Sh540 million.
Justice David Majanja further directed PCK to file a progress report on plans to transfer two properties belonging to the corporation to the scheme, after it emerged that both parties were engaged in talks for the transfer of the assets.
The transfer of the two properties in Kizingo in Mombasa and another in Nairobi was approved by the parent ministry of ICT in 2018 but it has allegedly been delayed by procedures required by the ministry.
“The defendant is therefore ordered to provide accounts of deductions it has made from beneficiaries from June 2015 to date, since it is the defendant’s obligation to remit only monthly deductions from beneficiaries to the scheme,” the judge said.
The judge said the progress report should be filed in court within 120 days from the date of the ruling.
The trustees of the scheme including Dr Salim Ndemo, Ibrahim Salat and Christopher Cherono moved to court in 2017 accusing PCK of failing to remit dues to the scheme since 2015.
Then the amount stood at Sh493 million plus interest of Sh47.4 million.
The scheme was established in April 2010 and the trustees claimed that PCK failed to remit the sums, jeopardising the retirement plans of its members and exposing the trustees’ to sanction by the Retirement Benefits Authority.
PCK had opposed the case saying the matter should have been referred to arbitration and that the case was filed prematurely, as the parties were negotiating.
The court heard that PCK had settled on a mode of settlement by transferring the two properties to the scheme, which was approved by the parent ministry and the Head of Public Service in 2018.
Further, the corporation said that the valuation of the two properties was done and the report was sent to the ministry of ICT and Treasury for completion of the transfer process.
PCK admitted that it was in financial distress and cannot make cash payments and the viable method was the transfer of the properties.
The judge declined to order the payment of the dues since the parties were engaged in talks.
“I however, note that this matter has remained unresolved since it was filed six years ago, it is in the interest of justice for the defendant to inform the court and the plaintiff of the progress of the implementation of the settlement,” the judge said.
