Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, stated this at a one-day public hearing organised by the Joint Senate Committees on Finance, National Planning, Banking, Customs, Trade and Investment on the provisions in Finance Bill 2020.
“On the issue of unclaimed dividends, what the government is proposing is in line with the provisions of the Constitution.“Any fund that is lying fallow after a certain period of time cannot be taken over but such funds could be borrowed. The Unit Trust being proposed is a borrowing arrangement of the government.
“The reason the Debt Management Office would be in charge of the unclaimed dividends and deposit in dormant accounts is because it has the mandate to manage debts on behalf of the government.