Workers’ MPs Call for Value for Money Audit into NSSF
Workers' Representatives have requested that the National Social Security Fund be audited for value for money by a respected international audit company (NSSF).
Workers’ MPs Call for Value for Money Audit into NSSF
Workers’ Representatives have requested that the National Social Security Fund be audited for value for money by a respected international audit company (NSSF).
Members of Parliament, Hon. Arinaitwe Rwakajara, Hon. Agnes Kunihira, Hon. Margaret Rwabushaija, and Hon. Abdulhu Byakatonda, submitted this recommendation on Wednesday, 01 February 2023, while testifying before the Select Committee probing the management of the NSSF.
Rwakajara urged the committee to choose individuals who are interested in learning how the Shs100 billion collected monthly by the NSSF is invested.
“We require an international audit firm that will not be compromised. As a committee, you must generate a lot of attention and ensure that this investigation does not turn into a show. “I say this because I worked with NSSF as a board member,” Rwakajara explained.
He stated that there are cases where the fund’s management purposefully delays investments, harming savers’ interest profits.
“What does this money do if it takes a month without being invested? The NSSF situation is grave and delicate. Real numbers should be the focus of investigations.
“A day lost equals a loss, and we need a return on investment,” Rwakajara explained.
Kunihira encouraged the committee to investigate the NSSF’s real estate assets, claiming that they are to blame for the fund’s alleged corruption scandals.
NSSF invested Shs1.1 trillion in real estate in the fiscal year ended 2021, and such money, according to Kunihira, is easy to mismanage.
“That is where money is exchanged. We always have problems with real estate investments, but there are no problems with other assets,” Kunihira explained.
She went on to say that the fund’s problems are the result of squabbles between the Ministries of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development and Gender, Labour, and Social Development following the Amendment to the NSSF Act.
The law established dual oversight of the fund, with the Ministry of Finance overseeing investment through the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) and the Gender Ministry overseeing social protection.
The finance ministry, according to Kunihira, is unhappy with the bill and wants total supervision of the fund.
“It’s a smear effort; NSSF challenges aren’t as severe as the media portrays,” she remarked.
Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, a committee member, advised his colleagues to think about amending the NSSF Act to clarify the role of URBRA on the board.
The Workers’ Representatives were given the duty of handling the complaint regarding the suspense accounts by the committee’s chairperson, Hon. Mwine Mpaka.
“Money from people who have died and who haven’t claimed is supposed to be in this account, and it’s a lot. Have any employees informed you that NSSF staff members are stealing money? There is a rumor that individuals are using fake government IDs to withdraw money from suspense accounts, claimed Mwine Mpaka.
