He said: “As at December 2018, we had 25,175 pensioners (Retirement, Invalidity and Survivors) on our pension payroll and we have paid a total of Le. 148.5 billion in pensions between January and December 2018.”
Mr. Daboh spoke also on the successes and challenges since he took over in June 2018 and how he continues to strive to put the operations and benefits’ payment at the centre of their business as one main objective for which the establishment was created. He pointed out that the empowerment of inspectors with requisite training and skill constitutes a major role since these are important in achieving the objectives of NASSIT.
He maintained that after a nationwide verification exercise of all retirement pensioners, the Trust discovered that pension payroll continues to increase and they now have over 17,000 Retirement Pensioners that they pay through the banks.
He lamented however that getting information about deceased pensioners is a Herculean task for the Trust but that they are now paying pensioners through the commercial banks to give them easy access to their pensions.
He added that NASSIT is lobbying Gougi Construction Company for the construction of five blocks of student hostels with ancillary facilities on five university campuses which, when completed, will provide housing facilities for 2,160 students across the country.
Mr. Daboh went on to state that the current active population in Sierra Leone is in the informal sector, but that the design of NASSIT, has not been compatible with the operations of the informal sector.
He said NASSIT will be rolling out an attractive social security scheme that would appropriately address the special needs of workers in that sector of the economy.
He also said that the pronouncement made by President Julius Maada Bio to increase government pensions from twenty five thousand Leones to two hundred and fifty thousand Leones has been effected. He said that the establishments of Toll Free Lines: 811, 812, 813, 814, 815, 816 and 817 from Africell and Orange has closed the communication gap between NASSIT and their customers.