adminElita Chikwati Senior Reporter
Governments should work on improving governance and institutions that are key to delivering effective social protection.
This was said by Sudanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Abdelbagi Hamdan Kabeir at the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) workshop on social protection held in Harare recently.
The four-day workshop is being attended by 16 participants from ARLAC member states that include Zimbabwe, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho among others.
Ambassador Kabeir said there was need to improve the governance and institutions involved in social protection, especially in the way social protection programmes were organised and financed. This, he said, could lead to then effective and efficient delivery of social protection services.
“Good governance ensures an organisation or business is focused on what it exists to achieve, effective at achieving what it exists to achieve and accountable for what it exists to achieve. The existence of good governance in social protection schemes would indeed eradicate the means of corruption.
“It also promotes community confidence and encourages the social schemes administrators to remember that they are acting on behalf of their community and help them understand the importance of having open and ethical processes which adhere to the rule of law and stand up to scrutiny,” he said.
He said despite sustained economic growth on the continent, poverty and vulnerability continued to affect most people.
“Social protection is an important part of Government’s strategy to fight poverty and vulnerability and to promote sustained economic growth and resilience to shocks such as drought and disease outbreaks.
“Governments globally and in this region recognise that social protection is a crucial component of national development strategies for achieving inclusive, pro-poor and equitable growth. It is also a tool for governments to realise human rights,” he said.
Ambassador Kabeir said although African countries have already implemented a variety of social protection programmes, such efforts remained fragmented, inadequate and inequitable.
“While social protection schemes are developed in response to specific country need, contexts are greatly different in terms of scope and sectoral focus.
“There are areas where countries can learn from one another,” he said.
ARLAC acting director Dr Locary Hlabanu said the workshop was designed to push for good governance and an improvement in the management and governance system of social protection.
Online Reporter