Must have social security funds

Must have national social security funds

1. Based on Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, below are the most basic and must have national social security funds for each and every country in this world, but especially for those poor and developing countries that want to attain first world status in less than a generation.? ?

2. The United Nations (UN), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA) amongst many other multilateral international development bodies and agencies, have all unanimously agreed that the provision of comprehensive and universal national social security services is an absolute prerequisite for, and not just an end product of, national socioeconomic growth and development. Please read this profound statement over and over again until you come to grips with its deep meaning and the immensity of its assertion. Please do it now. ?

3. Remember that according to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are the most basic of all human needs. Human physiological basic needs are food, shelter, health, education, transport, communication, safety and security in that order of importance. This is just pure logic, right? Physiological needs support life. Without accessing one’s basic physiological needs, it is pretty obvious that one’s life would be at risk of being lost, and being lost very quickly as well. Simple. ????

4. Hence the most basic and must have social security funds are obviously centred on making basic physiological human needs universally available, affordable and accessible to all citizens. This would be regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, tradition, culture, social, political or economic status. This is as it must be. Hence each and every country in this world, particularly poor and developing countries, must ensure that they have got comprehensive and universal national social security funds which cover each and every basic human need. This is the one and most important realization which must be known to and by every public decision policy maker and implementer in this world.? ????

5. Another thing which everyone must know is that social security funds must not be administered as state owned or government owned enterprises (i.e. the so called SOEs or GOEs) in order for them to succeed. Instead, they must be incepted, operationalized, managed and administered as public owned private sector business enterprises (POPSBEs) or just public owned enterprises (POEs) for short. This realization is very important. National social security funds are apolitical, non-partisan, long lasting and even permanent public institutions which are supposed to outlive and outlast any national government. They are not supposed to come and go with the whims of each government. This is one of the main reasons why these national funds must be POEs and not SOEs or GOEs.? ???????

6. The difference here is that while SOEs report to a given government ministry, POEs would report directly to parliament through the Chairperson of their given Parliamentary Portfolio Committee. Unlike with SOEs, the Boards of Directors (BODs) of POEs are not appointed by, and neither do they report to any government Minister. Neither can they be dismissed by any government Minister or by Cabinet as well. POE BODs would be directly elected into office by relevant stakeholders. They would then run POEs as provided for under their governing laws. They would only be answerable to the law makers themselves in parliament. POEs Executive Managements are hired and fired by the BOD and not by any minister, while the BOD itself can be fired only by law makers and not by any minister.

7. With POEs, best practice standards are such that there would be legally provided for true, real, meaningful, complete and practical separation of powers, people, duties and responsibilities. Not even one person in the POE would ever be legally allowed to have power and influence at more than one operational level. For example, the POE BOD would be confined to its oversight function only and nothing else. Legally, the POE BOD would not be allowed to interfere with the day-to-day work of executive management. On the other hand, executive management would also be legally confined to management functions, duties and responsibilities only. The same confinement would apply to middle management, administrators and supervisors all the way down to the last person on the shop floor. Accountability would also be legally demanded of everyone without the possibility of passing the buck. This is as it must be if national social security funds are to stand the test of time.? ?????

8. As private sector entities, POEs can eventually be able to survive without government, or even without government support. These are the kind of organizations which are needed to take care of the universal availability, affordability and accessibility of basic human needs such as food, shelter, health, education, transport, communication, safety and security without fear or favour, Right?

9. From the aforesaid, it then goes without saying that the must have national social security funds in order of importance and or priority are as follows:

(a) National Agricultural Development and Food Security Fund (NADFSF).

(b) National Housing and Infrastructure Development Fund (NHIDF).

(c) National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

(d) National Education Insurance Fund (NEIF).

(e) National Roads and Transportation Systems Development Fund (NRTSDF).

(f) National Information and Communication Technology Development Fund (NICTDF).

(g) National Safety Systems Management and Development Fund (NSSMDF).

(h) National Defense and Security Systems Management and Development Fund (NDSSMDF).

(i) National Pension Fund (NPF).

(j) Workers Compensation Insurance Fund (WCIF).

(k) Road Traffic and Motor Vehicle Accidents Insurance Fund (RTMVAIF).

(l) Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

(m) Disability and Old Age Grants Fund (DOAGF).

(n) Social Assistance and Social Welfare Fund (SASWF). ?

10. The above are the must have 14 basic national social security and social protection funds which each and every country in this world, more especially in the developing world, must have in order for it to socioeconomically grow in an irreversible and sustainable way. Each one of these national social security funds has its own governing best practice standards in addition to some of the general standards which have already been discussed above. The only general best practice standard which I want to add herein and now is the triple-thirty-ten (30-30-30-10) rule. This is the rule whereby not more than 30% of collected annual social security fund premium contributions must be used for administrative purposes (i.e. payment of staff salaries and other recurrent expenses); not more than 30% must be used for benefits payments; not less than 30% must be invested in legally approved solid assets (gambling with social security public funds on the stock market and in trade finance is positively outlawed), and at least 10% must be kept as easily accessible emergency reserve funds.

NB: There are very deep and comprehensive requirements and best practice standards for each and every one of the above enumerated national social security and social protection funds which cannot be elucidated in this short space and time. However, I am always available for hands-on consultation and working together with any willing people, institutions and countries. Thank you very much.

Dr Cleopas Sibanda: MBChB, MSc WHW, PGCert OSH, PGDip OSH, PGCert SP.

Occupational Health and Social Protection Specialist Physician.

Cell: +268 76833180 or +268 79394670; Email: [email protected] ?

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