HakiPensheni

What real benefits from Social Security Week?

By Editor

4th November 2011

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Barring unforeseen circumstances, Tanzania will be marking Social Security Week from Tuesday through Sunday next week. The event’s organisers, notably the relatively recently established Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA) says things are running according to plan and sees no reasons for it to be a resounding success.

Only weeks, ago, though, the agency briefed editors on how busy it was fighting to inject some sanity into the social security “industry” in a country where a wide array of challenges are known to hinder pension schemes from offering their members smooth, reliable and efficient services.

SSRA Director General Irene Isaka spent over an hour elaborating on these challenges, saying the most daunting include the fact that the operations of these schemes are government by different pieces of legislation.

The major such schemes in operation in Tanzania, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Parastatal Pensions Fund (PPF), Local Authorities Pensions Fund (LAPF), Government Employees Provident Fund (GEPF), National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF), report to different government ministries and the benefits they offer are far from uniform or harmonised.

Going by the SSRA director general, among the other challenges facing the sub-sector are that the schemes observe and are supposed to implement different investment policies while most have much fewer members that they would need to become really strong and effective agents of change in society.

In showcasing their activities, SSRA and the individual social security schemes will have a hard time trying to prove to a largely disillusioned and disheartened public not only that members have cause to smile into the future but also that the scheme truly mean well to the nation.

For instance, convincing answers will have to be given to such questions as relate to the schemes’ investment priorities, differences in members’ contributions and benefit types and computation, non-transferability of membership, and differences in members’ contributions.

Fortunately, it is understood that SSRA has begun going through the laws under which the various schemes were established in a move aimed at harmonising them for purposes of serving members and the nation better.

That may not necessarily be the kind of music many ordinary people would like to hear in that, for them, what matters most is actually having the promises translated into more handsome “dividends” in the form of fatter cheques issued and cashed without even an hour’s delay.

Pavilion officials at the Social Security Week exhibition should expect thousands of visitors, most of them not impressed with how things are going, but that should be a blessing in disguise because it will accord them an excellent opportunity to sensitise those lacking social security awareness.

SSRA has allayed fears that it is bent on weakening social security scheme, saying it is working alongside the Bank of Tanzania and the relevant government agencies in looking at how best to improve members’ benefits without compromising the financial stability of the sector and sustainability of the schemes.

This, too, should be elaborated on thoroughly during the upcoming Week, which means all exhibitors should have lined themselves up appropriately to welcome the all-important event.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN