NAPSA SIGNS MOUs WITH SEVEN INFORMAL SECTOR ASSOCIATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY INCLUSION

The National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) recently signed Memoranda of Understanding with seven informal sector associations at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Lusaka. The joint signing ceremony  was in order to adequately capture the different types of informal sector employees for social security inclusion.

The seven informal sector associations that have partnered with NAPSA include:

1. National Arts Council (NAC)
2. Zambia Bus and taxi Workers Union (ZABTWU)
3. Bus and Taxi Drivers Association of Zambia (BTDAZ)
4. United House and Domestic Workers Union (UHDWU)
5. Association for Employers of Domestic Workers in Zambia (AEDWZ)
6. Zambia National Marketeers Credit Association (ZANAMACA)
7. National Association for Small and Medium Scale Contractors.(NAMSSC)

The Authority is leveraging partnerships with various stakeholders, key among them are the different associations and unions representing the interests of domestic workers, taxi and bus drivers, marketeers, Sawmillers and smallholder farmers.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, NAPSA Director General Mr. Yollard Kachinda, reiterated to the association and union representatives that social security is a basic human right for all workers.

Mr. Kachinda added that the inclusion of the informal sector in the provision of social security was aimed at improving the lives of all workers.

“Informal workers are more vulnerable to social and economic shocks and social security gives them an opportunity to secure their future and protect themselves and their families from eventualities such as retirement, invalidity and death,” he said.

And the representatives from the seven informal sector associations and unions that signed the MOUs unanimously agreed that they will provide a platform that NAPSA will use to access the targeted informal workers with a view of on-boarding them onto the pension scheme so that they can also enjoy the benefits that NAPSA provides.