Seamless social security for East, Central African workers

By BERNARD BUSUULWA
The East African

Professionals in East and Central African countries could soon be able to access social security and pension benefits with ease despite change of residence within the two regions.

The East and Central Africa Social Security Association (ECASSA), an umbrella body of statutory national social security fund institutions, intends to lobby the East African Community over the establishment of a
social security charter.

The Parastatal Pensions Fund of Tanzania, among others is a member of the association, which was launched in March 2007 in Kigali, Rwanda.

The charter, to be structured along the lines of the European Social Charter which was enacted in October 1961 and governs social security and pension standards in European states, will emphasise, among other things, the right of access for all workers and their dependents to social security, the right to social and medical assistance of the poor and the right of every elderly person to social protection.

Anderson Mwaloma, the interim secretary general of ECASSA, said, “Professionals are currently moving from Kenya to work in Tanzania and find problems accessing their social security or pension benefits. They are required or forced to go back home for assistance. We want to make it easier for them.”

He further said that the proposed social security charter will be the foundation for programmes and schemes to provide decent and reasonable standards of social welfare.

The charter will oblige member states to provide vital social welfare facilities such as National Health Insurance Schemes without fail but within their respective means. Currently, Uganda is yet to establish a National Health Insurance Scheme despite some concerted efforts in the recent past.
The strategic plan is expected in August and will contain, among others, a sound blueprint for the proposed social security charter.

Mr Mwaloma told The EastAfrican that professionals who have changed country of residence will not be compelled to pay extra money to join new schemes. “We want to make sure that if a contributor to a pension fund moves from say Kenya to Tanzania, the selected pension fund in Tanzania should be able to absorb them smoothly without charging them more than what they are required to pay back home.

“But if the pension fund in Tanzania finds the burden too heavy, then it can ask the predecessor pension fund to meet the extra cost incurred. For those that work for instance, seven years in Kenya, five years in Tanzania and five years in Uganda and cannot fulfil the 20-year requirement needed to start receiving their pension benefits from their home pension fund, access to such benefits will be made easier through calculating their years of eligibility collectively and reducing them where necessary,” said Mr Mwaloma.

The association is chaired by Henry Gaperi, the chief executive officer of the Social Security Fund of Rwanda, and its secretariat is hosted by the National Social Security Fund of Kenya.

Though the association is still predominantly East African in composition, it remains very keen on attracting more members from Central Africa.

According to Prof Mondo Kagonyera, deputy managing director of the National Social Security Fund of Uganda, the association was originally conceived as an umbrella body specifically meant for the East African region but it was realised later on that the benefits would be wider through inclusion of other countries. So far, Zambia has already consented to join the association.