Ministry’s bill to review SSRA law on retirement benefits not yet ready

THE bill which was proposed by the Ministry of Labor, Youth and Employment with a view to stop an impeaching law passed by the Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA) that workers contributing for the pension funds will not be allowed to withdraw their benefits until they attain retirement age, is yet to be released by the ministry. The bill which was expected to be submitted to the Parliament this November during debate sessions as earlier promised in previous Parliamentary sessions in July this year, is being worked upon, the Deputy Minister for labor Dr. Makongoro Mahanga said recently in Dar es Salaam. He said his ministry was busy with other schedules and that, they couldn’t get enough time to go through the various proposals over the matter and assured that a draft on the bill might be finalized by February next  year. “We are still working on the proposal after which we shall collect people’s views over the matter which would be done in public and people would be given opportunity to participate and come out with their views” he said adding that, basing on people’s views, the ministry would be in a position to issue a comprehensive bill for presentation in Parliament upon its completion. The Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) which has been anxiously following the matter more closely since its announcement by SSRA in April this year, was puzzled and later calmed down over the matter waiting to see how the ministry would work on it. Speaking in an exclusive interview, TUCTA’s Secretary General, Nicolaus Mgaya said over the phone that, they have sent a 12 paged report on recommendations to the Ministry over the matter to see for the implementation of the issue to their workers, but to their dismay have been informed to wait till all is settled.

The Deputy Minister for Labour and Youth Employment Dr. Makongoro Mahanga being interviewed by two local television channels including TBC a national electronic media.

“We are not so much worried about the slow pace of the bill as promised by the Ministry, but are still waiting for the final draft as a promise is a debt”, he said adding that, Tanzania workers are very much anxious to know about the development of the issue as it is very sensitive on the part of their rights of benefits. Following the recent announcement by the fund’s regulatory Authority, many interviewed workers were of the opinion that the policy change would disrupt their life plans because they had expectations that once they somehow get out of job, they would use the money to support their families. Current levels of payment coupled with the prevailing economic hardships have caused a good number of workers to live as if they were unemployed as they increasingly find themselves unable to meet their basic needs. Critics on the issue have noted that, because most workers receive very low salaries and the majorities have been noticed to have shorter contracts with their employers, the culture of saving on their own is almost non-existent. Therefore in view of this, most workers have to object and work against the idea which they know might cause danger on the part of their life. “Could it be that everybody knows exactly the day of his/her death, then they could have been in a position to retain their dues without problem” said one contributor Athumani Ally who works with the Dar es Salaam based Azam Bakery Ltd and a regular contributor of the NSSF fund who was once shocked by the announcement with anger. According to SSRA’s Director General Irene Isaka, members would not be allowed to withdraw benefits any time they quit from their jobs until and unless they attain either the voluntary retirement age of 55 or mandatory age of 60 years. She noted, however, that workers leaving their jobs prematurely have a chance of engaging in other economic activities and advised them to continue being members of the respective social security funds until they qualified for the old-age pension. But workers argue that given the current high unemployment rate in the country, it’s not going to be easy to secure another job in a short time. The labour market is nowadays highly competitive. More than one million new job seekers enter the labour market every year, and only a fraction of them gets absorbed. They argued further that not all people quitting or being made to quit from their jobs may be interested to find employment elsewhere, some may opt to venture into some kind of business, and it would not be right to force them to do otherwise. At the moment Tanzania has six pension funds namely National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Parastatal Pensions Fund (PPF) Government Employee Provident Fund (GEPF), Local Authorities Provident Fund (LAPF), National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF).