The National Social Security House in Nairobi. Photo/FILE
Only 11 per cent of East Africa’s population is
covered by social security programmes, the Regional Social Security
Forum for Africa held in Kigali last month was told.
Participants, including social security leaders from 35 African countries, were told that coverage rates in middle-income African countries range between 40 per cent and 70 per cent.
Rwanda’s Prime Minister Bernard Makuza said coverage in Rwanda is still way below 10 per cent and that most of the Rwandan population is in the informal sector, being concentrated in the agricultural sector.
“Coverage has until now been largely targeted at the working population but efforts have to be stepped up to penetrate the informal sector as well,” Mr Makuza said.
“Extension of social protection is an important element in the country’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy. The strategy’s short term objective is to reduce the current proportion of 57 per cent of Rwandan population that lives below the poverty line to less than 46 per cent by 2012,” he added.
The regional forum, which attracted participants from 48 social security organisations in Africa, was organised by the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in collaboration with the Social Security Fund of Rwanda.
Within a three-year cycle, the Social Security Association organises a World Social Security Forum and four Regional Social Security Forums.
The Kigali forum was the first in Africa, with three key themes: Extension of coverage of social health protection; extension of coverage of social security pensions as a basis for old-age security in low-income countries; and good governance of social security schemes.
The National Social Security Fund of Kenya was awarded the first ISSA Good Practice Award for Africa for a governance reform entitled “Application of Performance Contracting in Social Security Administration,” which was described by the jury as an “innovative approach that reflected a high level of maturity in the institution to improve governance and leadership.”
The award programme was launched to recognise good practice in the management of social security, and to raise the profile of innovation in the administration, operations and delivery of social security programmes.
During the two-day forum, a report, “Dynamic Social Security for Africa: An Agenda for Development,” that analyses recent developments and trends in social security in Africa, was launched. The research was carried out in preparation for the forum.
While recognising Kenya’s submission to the Cabinet of a universal non-contributory pension package, the report said that the trend towards non-contributory old-age benefits represents a significant commitment in many of the region’s social security funds.
Kenya’s universal non-contributory pension package, according to the report, has been designed to provide all older Kenyans with a monthly minimum guaranteed benefit from age 55.
“In Kenya, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) is supporting the government to roll out a non-contributory pension pilot for 20,000 households,” the report says.
“Uganda is beginning a pilot to provide a monthly benefit of $11 to chronically poor older and disabled people,” it adds.
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