The Retirement Funds Act passed in the last sitting of Parliament to regulate pension funds is already being challenged, long before it is put to practice, The Patriot on Sunday has learnt. At the centre of the storm are complaints by employee trustees at Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) that they were never consulted during the drafting of the new law-which repeals the Pension and Provident Funds Act. This contradicts what Minister of Finance and Development Planning Kenneth Matambo told Parliament in August 2014, when presenting the Bill. Matambo had said the drafting of the Bill involved extensive consultations with several stakeholders including pension fund members, asset managers, fund administrators, pension fund providers and trustees. The retirement funds to be regulated by the new law include annuities, preservation funds, beneficiary funds, and external funds, among others. The Bill also regulates administrators and boards of retirement funds. Tobokani Rari-who together with eight others represent public servants (government employees) in the Board of Trustees is adamant that no consultation took place. "As key stakeholders in the biggest pension fund in the country we deserve to be heard on matters that directly affect our constituents, particularly that some changes will impact on…