KAMPALA- After successful deliberations from the two-day African Pension Supervisors Association ( APSA) conference that commenced on November 27- 28 hosted by Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) and its partners.
Matters of saving for pension, sustainable inclusion of the informal and mobilisation of funds for the unpredictable future was the order of the day and there was no deviation from theme at the conference.
Hon. Amos Lugolobi, State Minister for Finance who was the guest of honor said that without the pension sector which is a vehicle, there would be issues of funding since these savings are borrowed by the government and help in propelling social and economic development of the country.
“The demand of those resources is increasing because the population is shooting high and the international resources are not reliable and sustainable. The funds are more important for the growth and according to the statistics; the sector contributes 12 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
We are grateful that the regulator has matured fast and this is a milestone because it helps to secure the future of people and nation at large” he added.
He also noted that only 3 million Ugandans are covered and more potential is still there since the informal sector in Africa is large and not expected to decrease in the near future.
The Minister recommended that since most people in Uganda fear to be formal, they need to be educated so that they are informed to join the formal sector and such forums help them to learn from one another as they did with some bench marking from Nigeria and Rwanda.
He also advised that the discussion of pensions is very important and we should make the language simple for policy makers to understand so that favourable proper policies are set, adding that the APSA conference was a new chapter in Uganda and we should change challenges into opportunities.
On behalf of the steering committee, Hon. Julius Bigirwa, Chairman Board of Directors , URBRA encouraged stakeholders to engage leaders such as Ministers, Politicians , Members of Parliament and other players so that they are well informed to enable them appreciate but not against it due to lack of information and knowledge since the matter benefits all of us and Uganda.
During one of the sessions, Sundeep Raichura, Group CEO, Zamara group pointed out that the government should take keen interest like the way other countries have done such as South African since it contributes a huge percentage to the Gross Domestic Product and has spurred development of the country.
To bring the matters back home, Mr. Victor Bua, Commissioner Pensions at the Ministry of Public Service said that the sector is a little complex and one of the challenges is creating interest to the government so that it can progress steadily with them appreciating and understanding it properly.
Mr. Bua shared some of the reforms and recommendations according to their study that will address most of the bottle necks in a growing sector for Uganda.
“The Pension & Gratuity budget 2023/4 is UGX 1.2, trillion which is slightly twice compared to the UGX. 420bn in 2016/7 which is not a big margin yet it is one of those crucial sources of funds to the government since the population is still young and increasing exponentially.
We should work on some of the major reforms that include ; Governance Institutions, Involvement of payroll contribution ( Pre- funding of 15% , Introduction of minimum pension (1/4 ) of the referent wage to address adequacy issues, establishment of fund ( public pension fund separate from the sponsor) , reforms of the pension fund from 1/ 500 or 2.4 to 1/600 or 2.0 and many others ” added Victor Bu
From Sierra Leone, Muhammad Fuaad Daboh, Director General, National Social Security & Insurance Trust also explained that they have had very many challenges as a nation ranging from political upheavals, wars, legal frames works, less inclusion of the private sector, pandemics such as Ebola and many others but now gradually moving on course with new developments in digitalization, diversification to the private sector among others innovations
There was also the launch of the APSA website that will be providing upbeat information on pension and other related relevant materials to enhance the knowledge of members, public and different governments. The day culminated into awarding of various partners at a networking and send off dinner with entertainment from the Abeeka Band.
