PSSSF fully operational as board named

Dodoma. The law that established the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) becomes fully operational today following yesterday’s government announcement that it had appointed eight members of the board of directors to the new institution.

Names of the board members were unveiled in Dodoma by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled Ms Jenista Mhagama. PSSSF was established by the Public Social Service Act, 2018, which was assented to by President Magufuli, this year, to merge all pensions funds into two.

Under this move the entire public workforce will now be served by the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which will cater for the public and private sectors respectively.

PSSSF was formed after the merger of the PPF Pension Fund, Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), Local Authorities Pension Fund (LAPF) and Government Employees Provident Fund (GEPF).

Members who were appointed to the PSSSF board are Ms Leah Ulaya and Mr Rashid Mtima. Members from institutions with large representation were Dr Aggrey Mlimuka and MS Stella Katende. From the private sector are Mr Thomas Manjati and another from Regional Administration and Local Government, Mr Hanry Katabwa.

A member from the Ministry of Finance and Planning is Ms Suzan Kabogo whereas one from the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, is Mr Jacob Mwinuka.

One slot for a representative from the Attorney General’s office would be announced in the due course.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) once advised the government to merge the pension funds into one or two entities to reduce the costs of pension benefits and operating costs, arguing that having many of them reduces their ability to offer quality services.

Several consultations were made when crafting the new law, with stakeholders proposing the merging of the funds into either one or two entities to reduce operational costs.