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Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]

ZIMBABWE is keen to leverage cordial bilateral relations with regional peers to negotiate and secure the transfer of social security protection contributions of its citizens who are working in the diaspora to ensure they benefit more from these resources upon retirement.

The portability of social security protection between countries is expected to address issues relating to individuals having to migrate just to receive their pension benefits.

At the moment there are a lot of Zimbabweans who worked and are receiving pensions from South Africa among other countries who have to frequently travel just to receive their pension payouts.

As one of the top skilled human capital hubs in Africa, Zimbabwe through its diaspora policy, is exporting labour, particularly teachers to Rwanda and other countries.

As the region benefits from the skilled Zimbabwean workforce, Government is working on ensuring they have social security or pension cover, among other social protection benefits when they return home.

The country has a sealed bilateral deal with Rwanda, for instance, which saw some of the teachers migrating to the East Africa state and are understood to be contributing to social security protection schemes there. National Social Security Authority (Nssa) director of social protection, Mr Shepherd Muperi, said the diaspora community has to be catered for in terms of social protection hence the Government’s interventions. 

“Together with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, we are currently working towards having bilateral engagements for what we call portability (movable) of social security,” he said. 

Mr Shepherd Muperi

“So that those people who are working in the diaspora when they are coming back home they move with their social protection benefits from an agreement view point with that country. 

“I can pre-empt that we have an engagement that is going on with Zimbabwe and Rwanda.”

Mr Muperi said the arrangement is stemming from the fact that Zimbabwe exported teachers to Rwanda who will need social security protection when returning to the country.

He said in processing the bilateral arrangement, the Government has taken cognisance that some of them were even contributing to Nssa and should not lose their contributions due to work related migration.

“So, there is some discussion to have some bilateral arrangements. So, there is portability of social protection. They will not come back and become a burden to the Government,” said Mr Muperi. 

“If they don’t have social security protection, they will still be a burden to the Government because the Government has a social contract to look after its citizens,” he added.

Mr Muperi said this on the sidelines of a meeting with Zambian counterparts in Bulawayo, which is on a benchmarking visit to Zimbabwe and has also proposed a portability social security protection with the country as there are Zimbabweans who work Zambia.

During interactions, an official from a pension fund in Zambia confirmed they were paying pension for 28 Zimbabweans but some of them have stopped receiving their allocations and they cannot establish why?

Mr Muperi said the Government has also intervened to have Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA) popularly known as “Wenela” get their funds from the time they worked in South Africa.

“Some bilateral agreements will be good. There is also a Wenela programme, we have a lot of our people who worked in South Africa’s mining sector who actually came back and did not enjoy the benefits of the contributions that they were making,” he said. 

Mr Shepherd Muperi

“Some of them were injured in the mines there and there is currently a programme and an arrangement where our Government is leading and is involved so that those people benefit. That is the portability of social protection,” said Mr Muperi.

He said interventions for a flawless access to social security protection in Africa is in sync with the continental Agenda 2063, which speaks to the “Africa we want”.

 “So, we have not done much but there are some interventions and have some programmes to have mainly bilateral agreements. If you look at Africa under Agenda 2063, they want to see an Africa where there is total portability within Africa on social security protection benefits,” said Mr Muperi. 

“Those are multilateral and are not easy to achieve than the bilateral arrangements between countries and that is what we are trying to do. And that is what the Government is trying to achieve under the Ministry of Public Works, Labour and Social Welfare,” he said.

Labour expert, Mr Dumisani Ndumiso Sibanda, said the issue of Zimbabweans having social security protection in other countries has always been there. 

“The issue of social security protection can be provided in the country where you are working and for that reason choose where to receive their social security protection,” he said. 

“For a long period, we have had Diasporans who worked in the United Kingdom receiving their social security protection from that country.”

Mr Sibanda said what was more critical at the moment was for the Government to ensure that retirees receive value of money for the period they worked.—@nqotshili