Kutoka Mfuko wa Jamii : NSSF YAWANUFAISHA WAKULIMA WA KIGOMA.

By ADAM IHUCHA--Tanzania’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has started to enroll farmers in a fresh sign of interest in occupations once thought too untested for conservative pension schemes.

So far, NSSF, the country’s largest state-run-pension fund has recruited nearly 750 farmers in a pilot project in Kigoma region, raking in nearly Tshs 150 million ($96,154) as their contributions for six months.

This comes as a surprise move, as the scheme tries to diversify its market niche in order to boost its membership base to survive the onslaught of stiff competition from other pension funds.

NSSF’s membership has traditionally been fixed to the workers in structured private sectors, but with the liberalization of social protection system, the scheme now can woo members from any sector.

Director of Research, Actuarial and Policy Development for Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA), Ansgar Mushi says that the farmers contribute 20 percent of their income for two harvesting seasons a year.

“This means that during the first harvesting season, farmers have remitted their contributions for six months in advance” Mr Mushi explained.

Zitto Kabwe Member of Parliament (Kigoma North – Chadema), the man who pushed hard for this initiative says with their contributions to NSSF, peasants in villages of Mkabogo, Rusaba and Matyazo in Kigoma, not only have a guarantee of retirement benefits, but also now have access to health insurance.

“For the first time in their lives, they have no stress about costs of health services as their nearby health centre run by Anglican church is an NSSF appointed agent and villagers just present their NSSF cards for services” Mr Kabwe explains.

He further says although only 750 joined NSSF, health coverage is for a member, spouse and four children, that means approximately 4500 individuals are covered.

Building on pilot project’s success story and government support, NSSF will soon embark on a wider coverage reinforcing social security to rural dwellers to woo at least 200,000 farmers over the next five years.

Senior Officer from the Department of Cooperatives, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Mr Aberhard Mbepera confirmed that together with pension fund have prepared a joint strategy to recruit more farmers through cooperative societies, which will be agents to collect and remit the farmers contributions every harvesting season.

“The scheme in partnership with the commission of cooperative development is in final touches to launch the grand campaign come April, 2014 to enroll more farmers” Mr Mbepera said via e-mail.

Coverage

At present, however, 93.5 percent of Tanzanians have no access to any form of social insurance or benefits, and are thus fully excluded from social security coverage.

In real terms, this means that nearly 42 million out of Tanzania’s 45 million people are excluded from the country’s social security cover, official records show.

In Tanzania, around 80 percent of the population is composed of farmers. The tradition has it that social security schemes cover only the formally employed people, who make only a small percentage of Tanzanian population.

Farmers and the self-employed are left out.

A social scientist, Dr. Aikande Kwayu termed the exclusion of majority population in social protection as a national disaster because it means a huge burden to families and also to the government in cases of failure to work due to age, diseases, or disability.

“Someone somewhere will carry that burden. And as we know, it’s not only the formally employed folks who get old. Everyone does. Farmers also retire. Everyone is also in risk to get sick or acquire a disability that will incapacitate them to work” Dr. Kwayu noted.

She called upon the government to work with the social security schemes to come up with a systematic strategy to extend social security to every farmer and livestock keepers in Tanzania.

“It is not a myth. It is possible and, most important a developmental case. Many countries like China, Korea, Canada have attained universal social security and we can do it also” Dr. Kwayu explained.

Permanent Secretary at the ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Eric Shitindi says that it was a high time for social protection to be guaranteed to the large majority of the population that lives below the poverty line.

“I’m happy that social security schemes are now penetrating at the rural areas to educate farmers” Ms Shitindi said, adding that National Health Insurance is now pursuing rural dwellers in Singida region to contribute a chicken per month for heath insurance.

For his part, the Director of ILO country office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Mr Alexio Musindo, said social security institutions need to design and govern social protection systems and programmes that are affordable, sustainable and feasible.