Chronicle EditorLeonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
SOCIAL security institutions should invest in strategies that will help detect evasion and fraud to restore public confidence in the insurance sector.
This comes as the Southern Africa region faces a major challenge of identifying the appropriate risk-free systems that can help to eradicate error and combat evasion and fraud. The social security sector has over the years been dogged by errors, evasion and fraud and as a result lost legitimacy among clients and citizens in general.
In an effort to come up with solutions to the challenge that faces the whole region and increasing demand for transparency and growing public expectations on social security administrators, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) hosted a conference in partnership with the National Social Security Authority (Nssa).
Addressing the conference last week, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavima said the Government has invested in empowering compliance officers at entities such as the Nssa to ensure companies submit correct remittances on time as guided by statutory instruments and provide unparalleled social security to all working Zimbabweans and their dependants. He said if these menaces are left untamed, the collapse of social security schemes becomes inevitable.
“Our desire is to provide sustainable social security and promote occupational safety and health to all members through responsive schemes and services. It is high time our region and indeed the continent fully embraced cutting edge Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions as well as benefit payment systems that will improve the tracking of errors, evasions and fraud that could derail our progressive call for social protection for our people,” said Prof Mavima.
He said mechanisms to guard against ghost beneficiaries will go a long way in flushing out undeserving claims from systems.
Social security consists of policies and programmes structured to reduce poverty and vulnerability brought about by retirement, sickness, injury and death. Provision of social security is hinged on adequate funding from the pooling of resources and contributions from employees and their employers.
The theme for the conference which sought to help Africa to develop African solutions was: “Error, evasion and fraud in Social Security system.” Prof Mavima said there was need to unpack causes of error, evasion and fraud and proffer lasting solutions for the good of social security administration.
There should be adequate training for social security officers to be able to identify cases of error, evasion and fraudulent claims before they are fully processed.
Nssa general manager Mr Arthur Manase called for unity of purpose towards finding solution, saying error, evasion and fraud pose a significant risk to social security systems.
He said Zimbabwe had embarked on a mission to provide sustainable social security and promote Occupational Safety and Health to all members through responsive schemes and services.
“It is my sincere hope that our coming together strengthens relationships and improves the ever necessary regional and international collaborations that are key in fighting menaces against social security sustainability,” he said.
The chairman of ISSA Southern Africa, Prince Lonkhokhela Dlamini said use of rigorous processes to detect and prevent error, evasion and fraud, reinforce the legitimacy of social security institutions and have a positive impact on their capacity for sustainable development in support of social well-being and economic redistribution and growth.
“We found the topic, ‘error, evasion and fraud in social security systems’’ to be very important hence we will be seeking ways to improve our strategies in our endeavours of eradicating error and combating evasion and fraud to protect the image of our social security institutions and ensure their financial sustainability, as administrators,” said Prince Dlamini.–@ncubeleon
Online Reporter