‘NSSF Will Not Be Privatised’

By Vision ReporterTHE Government on Friday ruled out privatisation of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).Gender, labour and social development minister Zoe Bakoko Bakoru said the Government has no intention of privatising NSSF, adding that it is not possible to privatise the Fund.Bakoko dismissed reports that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been pushing for privatisation of the Fund.“Social Security is not like Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) or Greenland. Social Security is the basic minimum that any country can have for its people. The Government has no intention of privatising the NSSF because it is the Fund that will have to provide for the vulnerable,” said Bakoko at a conference for workers, employers and the Government.“We are going to make the Fund positively functional so that it is used to create jobs for the vulnerable. We want to see low cost houses built in Kampala through the Fund,” she said.The conference, sponsored by the Norwegian Development Agency, took place at the International Conference Centre in Kampala.Present were Norwegian Ambassador Tore Gjos, and state minister for labour and industrial relations Henry Obbo.Gjos said the tripartite conference was conceived in September 2001 when Bakoko led a delegation to study social dialogue modes in Europe.He said Norway would provide Uganda with additional financial resources and expert manpower to pave way for a social tripartite dialogue between National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU), Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), and the Government.Others present were International Labour Organisation East African regional co-ordinator, Joseph Katende, FUE chairman, Aloysius Ssemanda, and NOTU chairman, David Nkojjo.Ends