Unpaid contributions to pensions fund hit Rwf 10b

Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) is owed over 10 billion francs by entrepreneurs and public entities in the country. This was disclosed, yesterday, by Oswald Munyandekwe, who is in charge of pensions at RSSB, during an interview with The Sunday Times. “There are many private and public offices around, like district authorities and hospitals, which have evaded the compulsory employee retirement funds, payable to RSSB. This money has accumulated over many years to an approximate 10 billion francs in total,” he said. According to RSSB’s system, an employer should pay 8 percent of their employee’s monthly salary to RSSB, 3 percent being a deduction from the worker’s monthly pay and 5 percent is contributed by the employer. This money is saved until the employer reaches retirement age to be repaid to them as retirement benefits, to support them in their old age. Munyandekwe notes that the money further accumulated because some businesses collapsed and some public entities changed their administration after the Genocide. “Some employers died and their businesses stopped in 1994, which made it difficult for CSR to follow up repayment. Public entities, like ministries, also changed hands or ceased to exist and many officials were not willing to take theresponsibility of arrears left by their predecessors”. Angelina Muganza, the head of the Public Service Commission, insisted that it was RSSB’s responsibility and that it should design better policies to get the debts cleared. “RSSB is the one to strengthen follow-up policies and make firms pay. What we can only do is to teach public servants about their rights, which include following up on their pensions and checking with RSSB to be sure their contributions are paid.” Antoine Manzi, the Director of Employment at the Private Sector Federation (PSF), says that the federation teaches businesses about payment of all dues, including RSSB fees, but cannot enforce the policy. On his side, Eric Manzi, the Secretary General of CESTRAR, a local workers’ union, says that they sensitize workers to verify their retirement fund contributions. “We do carry out sensitization campaigns and make sure that our members know all about RSSB contributions so that they do not fall victim.” he said.. He however notes that they don’t have solid relations with the new board, which minimizes their role in solving the problem. “We had negotiating power at CSR’s former administration, because we had to seat at the decision making table. It’s about five years since we were sidelined, but RSSB is now promising to restore our status so that we contribute to solving such problems.” According to Munyandekwe, RSSB plans to pay retirement benefits to retired employees from its reserve if their former employers cooperate with the board’s demands. The two parties can then repay their debts on instalment basis. Ends