The newly appointed leadership of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is embarking on a mission to expand its reach and bring in new savers from the informal sector and agriculture to ensure inclusive social security for all citizens. 

Patrick Ayota, the new Managing Director of NSSF, along with his acting deputy, Gerald Kasaato, unveiled their ten-year vision for the fund on Wednesday during their first public appearance since assuming their roles just six days ago. Ayota explained that recent amendments to the NSSF Act introduced new responsibilities, which have been integrated into their strategic plan. 

The core objective of this plan is to enhance social security coverage across Uganda's population, fostering a meaningful future for every citizen. The plan's execution involves nurturing a willingness to save among Ugandans and enhancing their capacity to save.

“Creating the willingness to save means implementing empowerment programs, financial literacy, increasing compliance, and using technology to make saving as easy as how our members want us to serve them. For creating capacity, we will roll out programs to increase the capacity of our potential members, either through job creation or enhancing their incomes in all possible ways,” he said. 

Addressing the specific challenge of bringing the informal sector and agricultural workers into the fold, Ayota pointed out that the amended NSSF Act now permits voluntary savings. Leveraging this, the fund aims to increase savings to 50 trillion shillings by the end of the envisioned period.