Martin Kuscus, the chief executive of the South African Bureau of Standards, has been elected as the chairperson of the board of the country's largest pension fund, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).
Kuscus takes over from finance minister Trevor Manuel, who was the fund's sole trustee until a new 16-member board of trustees was created.
The GEPF, which has 1.34 million contributing members and pensioners, has an overall asset base of R350 billion. The fund, a defined benefit fund, was 96 percent funded, according to its March 2004 actuarial valuation. The Public Investment Corporation and various other asset managers manage these assets on behalf of the GEPF.
The GEPF contributed more than R1.5 billion in retirement fund taxation for the year ended March 31, 2005, making it one of the bigger taxpayers in South Africa. The GEPF administers an average of R1.3 billion in monthly payments.
Kuscus was the MEC responsible for finance and economic affairs in North West Province between 1994 and 2004, and was also appointed to serve on the Financial and Fiscal Commission.
The vice-chairperson of the GEPF board is David Balt. He was an executive member of the National Education and Training Forum, and chairperson of the rationalisation and curriculum committees.
He is a founder-member of the Bureau of In-service Teacher Training, as well as the Gauteng Education and Training Forum.
He is a board member of the Gauteng Institute for Educational Development. Balt currently serves on three standing committees for heads of education departments.