NASSIT Engages the Media on Informal Sector
By Mohamed Konneh
The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) on Friday 10th March 2023 engaged the Sierra Leone media on the Informal sector with the Theme: Moving into the Informal sector-the role of the press.
The engagement was held at the Galliness Paradise auditorium in Bo City bringing together media practitioners from across the country.
Declaring the workshop open the Minister of Labour and Industrial Relation, Alpha Timbo said Social Protection is a Right of All Sierra Leoneans.
Mr. Timbo said the platform designed to interact with members of the “Fourth Estate”, deepen their understanding of emerging issues in the Trust, and use their channels to disseminate information to the general public.
‘I am especially delighted to be at the helm of affairs at the Ministry of Labour & Social Security when yet again an SLPP Government is championing a Scheme that will provide Social Protection for the Majority of the Working Population in this Country. Social Protection as we know it, is a Human Rights issue and should be enjoyed without Discrimination. It provides a basic level of benefits to enable individuals and families to acquire at least essential health care, basic shelter and housing, water and sanitation, food and basic education, the Minister said.’
He said the New Direction Government is not shy in implementing its ambitious development agenda covering all sectors of the country as contained in its 2018 Manifesto and Medium-Term National Development Plan.
‘But as a Government, we are aware that establishing a Social Insurance Scheme for the greater majority of the population is a step in the right direction. It is so, because the laws of our land, as enshrined in Chapter 2, Sub-Sections 8 & 9 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991 makes it a right to all citizens.
He said the country has already made significant efforts in providing Social Protection in the form of Social Assistance through Cash Transfers to the Vulnerable; the establishment of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT); and the implementation of the Labour Market Policies and Interventions.
‘Notwithstanding this, our Government is not oblivious to the fact that it has been challenging to Provide an Attractive & Sustainable Social Protection Scheme for the Informal Sector and the Unemployed Youthful Population of this country. It is based on that His Excellency through my Ministry has asked NASSIT to come up with an attractive and workable Scheme for these categories of our population. As a Government that cherishes due process and international best practices, we have asked the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for Technical Assistance throughout the entire process leading to the establishment and rolling out of the said Scheme, he said.’
In his statement the Director General of NASSIT, Mohamed Fuad Daboh said Social security is a human right issue and that Articles 22 and 25 of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ enacted by the United Nations, states that access to social security is a basic right.
‘The “Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention 102” adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1952 also prescribes minimum standards for benefits in the important areas of social security.
The ILO defines Social Security as, “The protection that society provides to individuals and households to ensure access to health care and to secure income security, particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, work injury, maternity or loss of a bread winner”. In this circumstance, therefore, social security schemes are designed to protect livelihood for individuals and their families against a sudden fall in living standards in the event any of the ILO contingencies occur, the Director General said.’
Mr. Daboh noted that social protection is a key element of our national strategy to promote human capital development, political stability and inclusive growth.
He said one of the main policy challenges in achieving sustainable growth and productive and decent employment is limited access to social protection. Many years after the civil war, and in the aftermath of a series of global crises, the key challenge for Sierra Leone in the area of social protection has been to move from ad-hoc emergency interventions to a national social protection system.
‘Successive Governments have developed and rolled out different types of social protection programmes, ranging from “Health; Micro-Credit; Food for Work; Safety-Net and Education”. Overall, the current challenge with the social protection systems in countries such as ours is two-fold: (1) providing adequate protection in a situation of heightened uncertainty in the labour market, and (2) combating poverty and reducing social exclusion in order to prevent sections of the population from being trapped in a cycle of poverty and underdevelopment, he narrated.’
The engagement was climax with a social evening organized in Bo bringing both staff of NASSIT, the Media and other stakeholders to interact.
