Social security schemes must give coverage to all

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (Labour, Employment, Youth and People with Physical Disabilities), Jenista Mhagama

 The government has directed the Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA) to make sure that all Tanzanians are registered with a social security scheme to help them improve their lives.

 

This was said on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam by the Minister of State  in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Employment, Youth and People with Physical Disabilities), Jenista Mhagama (pictured), when she visited the SSRA headquarters.

 

She said at the moment the number of Tanzanians registered with the social security schemes was still low and called for deliberate measures to increase it.

 

 “As a regulator, the SSRA should make sure that all Tanzanians are covered with a social security scheme that would enable them to improve their livelihoods,” she said.

 

Citing bodaboda riders, food vendors and farmers, she said many people were not covered with social security schemes, thus there was an urgent need to do so. 

 

Official statistics shows that not more than 5 per cent of the workforce in the country has been covered with a social security scheme.

 

Minister Mhagama also said the government wanted to see investments carried out by the social security funds benefitting members and the public at large.

 

For her part, the SSRA director general, Irene Isaka, said they have started to address various challenges facing members of social security schemes.

 

She said most of pension funds  organisations were now paying benefits to their members on time, adding that the authority had started to take stern measures against those who delay to collect monthly contributions from employers. 

 

She noted that plans were underway to extend coverage to farmers, pastoralists and other rural-based populations that had so far been neglected by the funds.

 

Mhagama said they had improved the communications department which would help to sensitise Tanzanians on the role of social security funds. 

 

Experts say Tanzania has potential opportunities that remain uncovered by the social security schemes and which call for the government’s intervention to increase coverage.

 

A well-designed social security scheme should be broad-based with adequate coverage and be sustainable.

 

The experts say the authority should ensure that funds are invested according to rules or investment guidelines as the government widens coverage services in the country to include people who are self-employed in the informal sector.

 

At the moment, only 5 per cent of Tanzanians are covered by the funds, while in Kenya coverage is 8 per cent and Uganda 11 per cent.

 

Currently, Tanzania has five social security schemes, namely National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Parastatal Pensions Fund (PPF), Local Authorities Pensions Fund (LAPF), Government Employees Provident Fund (GEPF) and the Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF).