Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
The National Social Security Authority will now fall under the oversight of the Insurance and Pensions Commission following President Mnangagwa’s signing into law of the IPEC Amendment Bill last Friday.
The President’s assent was announced by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya, in General Notice 555 of 2026 published in an Extraordinary Government Gazette.
“The following law, which was assented to by His Excellency the President, is published in terms of subsection (6)(a) of section 131 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe — the Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Act, 2026 (No. 2),” said Dr Rushwaya.
Under Section 4(a) of the new law, IPEC’s functions and powers now include registering and supervising insurers, mutual insurance societies, insurance brokers, medical aid societies, pension and provident funds, and the National Social Security Authority, to ensure compliance with the Insurance Act (Chapter 24:07) and the Pensions and Provident Funds Act (Chapter 24:32), as applicable.
NSSA is a statutory body established to provide a national social insurance safety net. Until the enactment of the new law, it operated under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
The President’s assent effectively puts an end to lobbying efforts by some stakeholders who had urged him not to sign the Bill after its passage through Parliament. These included NSSA itself and the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF).
TNF is Zimbabwe’s principal platform for social dialogue, bringing together Government, business and labour. Its mandate includes fostering consultation among social partners and offering strategic economic advice to policymakers.
The IPEC Amendment Act was steered through Parliament by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, who said the measure was intended to strengthen accountability at NSSA following numerous cases of abuse of funds and weak corporate governance at the State-run pension fund.
However, NSSA and the TNF opposed the transfer of oversight, arguing that it posed what they described as a “structural risk” to workers’ savings. They further contended that IPEC lacks the capacity to supervise NSSA, as its regulatory focus has traditionally been on private insurance and pension entities.
Beyond the expanded supervisory mandate, the IPEC Amendment Act seeks to regulate, supervise and monitor the insurance and pensions sector; promote a fair, safe and stable industry for the benefit and protection of policyholders and pension fund members; ensure adherence to principles of accountability and transparency and encourage the development of the insurance and pensions sectors.
The new law also provides for the establishment of a Policyholders and Pensions and Provident Fund Members Protection Fund, which will be vested in and administered by the IPEC Board in accordance with the Act.
The Fund will be managed by a board appointed by the Minister of Finance and, among other responsibilities, will pay compensation to beneficiaries for losses incurred in cases where a contributor becomes insolvent.
