Joina, BBSPF tussle over daughter's benefits
Lebogang Mosikare | Friday November 30, 2018 14:00
The quarrel between Joina and BBSPF erupted after Joina was omitted from being one of the beneficiaries of his late daughter late Motlalepula Joina’s P600,000 pension fund.
Motlalepula was an employee of Barclays Bank at the time of her passing.
BBSPF is an approximately P650 million rich entity that is entirely independent of Barclays Bank of Botswana Limited.
According to BBSPF principal officer Berlemina Ditirwa, BBSPF also has shares in Palapye Junction Mall, Airport Junction Mall in Gaborone and other interests.
When under cross-examination from Joina, Ditirwa clarified that BBSPF is not a pension fund but a staff benefits fund.
Ditirwa stated that Joina was excluded from being a beneficiary because when Motlalepula passed away, she was taking care of her paternal grandmother hence the board decided to give Motlalepula’s grandmother and five other people benefits that Motlapula had invested in the pension fund but excluded Joina.
When quizzed further by Joina why he was excluded from being one of the beneficiaries of his daughter’s pension fund, Ditirwa said that the benefits are distributed to people who have no means of supporting themselves.
In Joina’s situation, Ditirwa stated that when they interviewed him, he indicated that he was taking care of Motlalepula and her husband and as such, he was capable of taking care of himself hence he was excluded from benefiting from Motlalepula’s pension fund.
Joina put it to Ditirwa that the board of BBSPF acted in bad faith by excluding him as one of the beneficiaries since his mother who has investments that gives her a lot of money every month and children who are taking care of her was not totally dependent on Motlalepula for a living.
Joina said so after Ditirwa explained that when arriving at the decision to determine who should benefit from the fund, among other reasons, the board finds out if the beneficiaries were totally dependent on the pension fund holder for survival.
However, Ditirwa disputed that BBSPF excluded Joina in bad faith. Ditirwa however, agreed that all the people who benefited from the fund were not totally dependent on Motlalepula for a living.
Ditirwa also admitted that from the interviews that were conducted by BBSPF, it was clear that Motlalepula grew up at Shashemooke under the care of her paternal grandmother.
She added that they also found out that Joina took care of Motlalepula’s schooling obligations later in her life but her grandmother mostly raised her.
Ditirwa further said that their investigations also revealed that Motlalepula occasionally helped Joina while she was working as a child would do to a father but Joina was not totally dependent on Motlalepula for a living and had the means to support himself.
Joina further put it to Ditirwa that according to culture, he also qualified to benefit from his child’s pension fund because there was evidence that all the people who benefited from the pension fund were not totally dependant on Motlalepula for survival.
He added that the decision to exclude him from the pension fund was irrational, unfair and unjust because even Motlalepula’s distant relatives benefited from the fund while he as a father who single handedly raised Motlalepula was excluded.
This mismatch, Joina said, boggles the mind.
“Finally, I put it to you that the decision to exclude me from my child’s pension fund was taken in bad faith,” said Joina.
When re-examined by BBSPF attorney Bonolo Itumeleng, Ditirwa said that when they interviewed Joina, he told them he helped Motlalepula in many ways.
Ditirwa added: “Even the people that we interviewed told us that Joina was Motlalepula’s pillar of support in almost everything hence he was excluded from benefiting from his child’s pension fund because he is capable of taking care of himself”. Justice Lot Moroka is expected to deliver ruling in the matter in the first quarter of next year.