By ADAM IHUCHA--Tanzania’s National
Social Security Fund (NSSF) has started to enroll
farmers in a fresh sign of interest in occupations once thought too untested
for conservative pension schemes.
So far, NSSF, the country’s largest state-run-pension fund has
recruited nearly 750 farmers in a pilot project in Kigoma region, raking in nearly
Tshs 150 million ($96,154) as their contributions for six months.
This comes as a surprise move, as the scheme tries to diversify its market niche in order to boost its
membership base to survive the onslaught of stiff competition from other
pension funds.
NSSF’s membership has traditionally been fixed to the workers
in structured private sectors, but with the
liberalization of social protection system, the scheme now can woo members from
any sector.
Director of Research, Actuarial and Policy Development for
Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA), Ansgar Mushi says that the farmers
contribute 20 percent of their income for two harvesting seasons a year.
“This means that during the first harvesting season,
farmers have remitted their contributions for six months in advance” Mr Mushi
explained.
Zitto Kabwe
Member of Parliament (Kigoma North – Chadema), the man who pushed hard for this
initiative says with their
contributions to NSSF, peasants in villages of Mkabogo, Rusaba and Matyazo in
Kigoma, not only have a guarantee of retirement benefits, but also now have
access to health insurance.
“For the first time in their lives, they have no stress
about costs of health services as their nearby health centre run by Anglican
church is an NSSF appointed agent and villagers just present their NSSF cards
for services” Mr Kabwe explains.
He further says although only 750 joined NSSF, health
coverage is for a member, spouse and four children, that means approximately
4500 individuals are covered.
Building on pilot project’s success story and government
support, NSSF will soon embark on a wider coverage reinforcing social security
to rural dwellers to woo at least 200,000 farmers over the next five years.
Senior Officer from the Department of
Cooperatives, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Mr Aberhard Mbepera confirmed that together with pension
fund have prepared a joint strategy to recruit more farmers through cooperative
societies, which will be agents to collect and remit the farmers contributions
every harvesting season.
“The scheme in partnership with the commission of
cooperative development is in final touches to launch the grand campaign come
April, 2014 to enroll more farmers” Mr Mbepera said via e-mail.
Coverage
At present,
however, 93.5 percent of Tanzanians have no access to any form of social
insurance or benefits, and are thus fully excluded from social security
coverage.
In real terms, this means that nearly 42 million out of Tanzania’s 45 million people are excluded from
the country’s social security cover, official records show.
In Tanzania, around 80 percent of the population is
composed of farmers. The tradition has it that social security schemes cover
only the formally employed people, who make only a small percentage of
Tanzanian population.
Farmers and the self-employed are left out.
A social scientist, Dr. Aikande Kwayu termed the exclusion
of majority population in social protection as a national disaster because it means
a huge burden to families and also to the government in cases of failure to
work due to age, diseases, or disability.
“Someone somewhere will carry that burden. And as we know,
it’s not only the formally employed folks who get old. Everyone does. Farmers
also retire. Everyone is also in risk to get sick or acquire a disability that
will incapacitate them to work” Dr. Kwayu noted.
She called upon the government to work with the social
security schemes to come up with a systematic strategy to extend social
security to every farmer and livestock keepers in Tanzania.
“It is not a myth. It is possible and, most important a
developmental case. Many countries like China, Korea, Canada have attained
universal social security and we can do it also” Dr. Kwayu explained.
Permanent Secretary at the ministry of Labour and
Employment, Mr Eric Shitindi says that it was a high time for social
protection to be guaranteed to the large majority of the population that lives
below the poverty line.
“I’m happy that social security schemes are now penetrating
at the rural areas to educate farmers” Ms Shitindi said, adding that National
Health Insurance is now pursuing rural dwellers in Singida region to contribute
a chicken per month for heath insurance.
For his part, the Director of ILO country office for
Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Mr Alexio Musindo, said social security
institutions need to design and govern social protection systems and programmes
that are affordable, sustainable and feasible.
0 comments:
Post a Comment