Good news for Rwandans who worked in the Republic of Congo, otherwise known as Congo-Brazzaville to distinguish it for the other Congo; DRC. They will now be able to access their retirement benefits in Rwanda. The same will apply to Congolese nationals who worked in Rwanda and returned back home. They will have access to their benefits in either country. When one talks of social security, people’s attention tends to hastily turn towards retirement benefits. But that is far from the whole truth. The government has put in place many social protection measures such as community health insurance, social support platforms like VUP-Umurenge as well as the one-cow-per poor family programme. All those are geared towards the well being of the people; the first phase towards a more secure future. Then of course there are the social security bodies and insurance companies. Years of preparing for one’s retirement without an accompanying scheme would otherwise need some serious self control not to dig into life savings. The only challenge has been access to what a person is due. Managers of retirement benefits have been very slow in adapting to economic realities, and insurance companies have laid down complicated and bureaucratic hurdles when it comes to paying claims. This has created a climate of distrust towards those in charge of managing our premiums, and ensuring our safety and future. So it is not a surprise that Rwanda’s insurance penetration is still a lowly 2.8 percent. It will take stakeholders more than a multiplication of insurance companies to change that mindset; they will have to prove that they can be trusted to fulfill their end of the bargain. And secure our future.
