dyton mupawaenda
Bulawayo Bureau
THE Botswana delegation, which is in the country on a five-day business visit yesterday conducted a tour of the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) investment projects in Bulawayo to appreciate their model and impact on communities.
Led by Ms Veronica Moloko, the crew visited Ekusileni Medical Centre and Woodlands Town Houses in the company of their local counterparts in the social security sector.
Ekusileni Medical Centre was built for US$4 million in 2000 and is the brainchild of the late Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo while the Woodlands Town Houses, along Old Esigodini Road, were initially built to accommodate the medical centre’s senior staff members.
NSSA acting director of occupational safety and health, Dr Betty Nyereyegone, took the delegation on a tour of the two facilities, which are a stone’s throw from each other.
The tour, according to the NSSA deputy director of marketing and public relations, Mr Tendai Mutseyekwa, was meant to give their Batswana counterparts an appreciation of how the authority sustains itself outside contributions from workers.
He said this was part of a bilateral agreement between the government of Zimbabwe and Botswana on social security matters.
“The main difference between Botswana and us is that the Batswana schemes are wholly funded by the Government, they are not contributory whereas in Zimbabwe it is partially funded where employees and employers contribute.
“So, this was for Botswana counterparts to appreciate how we sustain our scheme,” said Mr Mutseyekwa.
He said the NSSA scheme cannot be wholly sustained through contributions by employers and employees hence the need to invest for the next step and sustainability of the schemes.
“We were showing them our two investments here in Bulawayo, Ekusileni Medical Centre and Woodlands Town Houses, which provide accommodation. There are 22 town houses here,” said Mr Mutseyekwa.
Speaking at the end of the tour, head of the Botswana delegation, Ms Moloko, said they were impressed with the level of investment and vision exhibited by Zimbabwe on social security matters for the workforce.
She said they came to Zimbabwe to learn and gather more facts to start similar projects back in Botswana.
“We are so excited and appreciative of what Zimbabwe is doing through these investments by NSSA. This is why we partnered with Zimbabwe so that we can explore and do our own scheme back home similar to what NSSA is doing,” said Ms Moloko.
“In Botswana, our social security programmes are still fully funded by the Government, the only contributory scheme is the pension for public service where we contribute five percent but the rest are on full Government funding.”
The high-level engagement programme will seek to consolidate the outcomes of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of labour and employment which was signed in 2020.
NSSA was constituted and established in terms of the NSSA Act of 1989, Chapter 17: 04 and is the statutory corporate body tasked by the Government to provide social security.
The provision of social security can be defined as instituting public policy measures intended to protect an individual in life situations or conditions in which his/her livelihood and well-being may be threatened, such as those engendered by sickness, workplace injuries, unemployment, invalidity, old age, retirement, and death.
It is based on the principle of social solidarity and pooling of resources and risks, involving drawing of savings from periods of employment, earnings and good health to provide for periods of unemployment, old age, invalidity and death.
Full story: www.herald.co.zw
It was created by an Act of Parliament, which empowers the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to establish social security schemes for the provision of benefits to all employees and is mandated to administer every scheme and fund that is established in terms of this Act.
Online Reporter