By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus – President Yoweri Museveni finally signed the NSSF (Amendment) Bill, 2021, his Senior Press Secretary Lindah Nabusayi said in a brief statement.

Noteworthy is a critical provision in the NSSF (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which will grant members aged 45 and above who have saved for at least a decade midterm access to 20% of their savings.

Last November, Parliament passed the National Social Security Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The NSSF Bill, which was first passed by the 10th Parliament on 17 February 2021, before it was returned to the House by President Museveni, seeks to, among others, allow mid-term access of up to 20 percent to members who have reached the age of 45 years and above. 

Additionally, it also aims to streamline the supervision of the Ugx15 trillion NSSF Fund.

The 10th Parliament had voted that the Ministry of Finance retains the supervisory role of the Fund coming after the President had rejected dual supervision, citing delays in decision making.

Earlier, Parliament reached a consensus on which ministry will supervise the operations and activities of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

Furthermore, a great conversation has been going on whether the supervisory role of NSSF funds should be under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development or remain under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development under the new NSSF (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which is currently before Parliament.

Members of Parliament agreed on the dual supervisory role of NSSF with the Gender Ministry taking the lead on overseeing social security, which encompasses mobilizing and empowering communities to harness their potential while protecting the rights of vulnerable population groups and promoting issues of labour productivity and employment.

The other core roles of the Gender Ministry will be ensuring social protection, gender equality, equity, human rights, culture, and empowerment. In the same vein, the Ministry of Finance's role will only be limited to matters of finance and investments.