RX Radio Presenters Fatboy and Olive earlier today expressed their views on the reversal of the NSSF mid-term access payments promised earlier by the Fund.
The National Social Security Fund NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba, while appearing before the Gender Committee of Parliament currently reviewing the NSSF Amendment Bill, reversed the decision to give out mid-term benefits to savers this month as he had promised earlier this year in August.
Mr. Byarugaba, who at the beginning of October re-assured NSSF beneficiaries aged forty and above that they would be able withdraw up to 20% of their savings, came out to say that the fund lacks money to give out to savers at the moment.
While commenting on the subject, Fatboy said that some conspiracy theories have alleged that NSSF is a piggy bank to the government which makes it a habit to take from the Fund without returning, making it bankrupt and unable to pay savers.
Additionally, Olive also said that the Fund has been criticized for investing money in unproductive ventures in addition to lending it to countries such as Kenya and Rwanda as claimed without laying out the terms of payment to the beneficiaries.
“Sometime back, NSSF expensively invested in real estate which was considered to be ‘state of the art’ because w it won an award for being the best in Africa . But since many Ugandans couldn’t afford these houses which cost between $900,000 -$1,000,000, the question of the target market still reigns as to whether this invested money wasn’t merely wasted.”
“Also when money is lent out to countries, they are expected to make monthly payments off their loan. So now that NSSF, through their press release claims to have lent the money to Kenya and Rwanda, why don’t they also divulge some of the terms of the agreement to Ugandans who saved with the Fund so they can be sure that they will be getting their money back,” Olive recommended.
Additionally, she questioned the action of Mr. Byarugaba’s reassurance of NSSF beneficiaries in August that they would get these allowances in October. In response to this, Fatboy jokingly said that maybe the payers weren’t able to pay back in time, making reference to individuals who make up stories when the due date for payments reaches.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy and Olive Najjuma every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.