The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
This move is expected to increase compliance by 3% in the next few months as executives race to grow assets by Shs2tn towards 2025
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s National Social Security Fund has upgraded its web-based whistleblower portal to enable members to report defaulting employers in a seamless manner and ultimately increase the compliance rate from the current 57% to 60% in this financial year 2023/24.
The Fund’s Managing Director Patrick Ayota told reporters on Nov.8 in Kampala that the new features of the upgraded portal include a complete anonymity option to protect whistleblowers from possible victimization and an automatic tracking aspect of reported cases.
He said the new portal also allows government labour inspectors to report government contractors who stubbornly refuse to contribute to the Fund as per the new NSSF Act which requires all employers irrespective of size to remit social security contributions to their employees.
However, Ayota cautioned employees of the new portal.
“Do not report falsely; that will be a criminal matter. Do not use this platform because you have beef with your employer,” he said.
Ayota said only 20,762 out of 36,426 registered employers were actively remitting contributions to the Fund.
“The data provided means that over 15,000 employers are not complying and are cheating their employees of their retirement savings! The sad news is that, on average, only 107 cases are being reported monthly,” he said.
Ayota further explained that the Fund initiates an investigation upon receipt of reported cases from the whistleblower.
The reported employer is then offered an opportunity to comply and settle the matter amicably if the allegation is proven to be true.
In the event the employer stubbornly refuses to co-operate, other drastic measures come into force including prosecution and the application of the punitive penalties permitted within the law.
Over the last two years, the Fund has recovered approx.9bn through litigation. Currently, the Fund has over 390 cases and expects to recover even more with this new whistleblower platform.
“Let us give this new platform one year and we will come here and report its performance,” Ayota said.
Common forms of irregularities in NSSF compliance include employers defaulting on monthly social security remittances despite deductions from their employees’ salaries, employers who do not contribute their mandatory 10% on top of their employees’ 5% contributions, and employers who under-declare their staff’s gross salaries with a motive to pay less monthly contributions for their staff.
Ayota said the members can access the portal through the Fund’s official website.
The National Social Security Fund Uganda is a multi-trillion Fund mandated by the Government through the NSSF Act, as amended, to provide social security services to all eligible employees in Uganda.
Ayota insists that the Fund is a secure, innovative, and dynamic social security provider that guarantees safety, security, and a return on members’ savings of at least 2% above the 10-year inflation average.
The Fund’s assets under management increased from Shs17.26 trillion in the financial year 2021/22 to Shs18.56 trillion in the financial year 2022/23. The assets are invested in fixed income, equities, and real estate assets within the East Africa region.
Ayota said that as the largest Fund in East Africa by value, they have the ambitious goal of growing the Assets Under Management to Shs20 trillion by 2025 – which is why different strategies have to be deployed to improve compliance and overall performance of the Fund, a view that is backed by his overseers.
The Fund is regulated by the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority while the Minister of Gender, Labour & Social Development, and the Minister of Finance, Planning & Economic Development are responsible for policy oversight.
