Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /usr/www/users/urnnet/a/story.php on line 43 PWDs Want 50% NSSF Midterm Access at 40 :: Uganda Radionetwork
The bill which had been passed by the 10th parliament allowed persons with disabilities access to 75 per cent of accrued benefits after a year with no job, and granted access to 20 per cent of accrued benefits to the other savers who clock 45 or those who have saved for at least 10 years.
The National Council for Disability has proposed
an amendment to the National Social Security (NSSF) Bill, 2021 to allow
persons with disabilities to access half of their savings at 40.
The bill which had been passed by the 10th parliament allowed persons with disabilities
access to 75 per cent of accrued benefits after a year with no job, and granted access to 20 per cent of accrued benefits to the other savers who clock 45 or
those who have saved for at least 10 years.
But President Yoweri Museveni returned the bill to Parliament and, in a letter dated August 26, addressed to the Speaker of Parliament Jacob
Oulanyah, suggested that the clause which granted persons with disabilities
access to 75 per cent of accrued benefits after a year with no job should be deleted.
The president argued that allowing a member with disability who
ceases to be employed for a period not later than one year to withdraw
75 per cent of their benefits will put the savers at great risk of
poverty in old age.
But Yona Wasswa, the chairperson of the National Council of
Persons With Disability says that Persons with disabilities should
be allowed to access their funds when they clock 40 because often, they find difficulty in switching jobs, yet they grow weaker as they age.
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The council alongside officials from the National Union of
Persons with Disability (NUDIPU) was today appearing before the parliamentary
committee on Gender which is considering the NSSF Bill. Mpindi Bumali, a representative of Persons with Disabilities in
Parliament and chairperson of
NUDIPU said that the President never consulted persons with disabilities before rejecting their provision in the bill.
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Alex Ndeezi, one of the representatives of Persons with disabilities in Parliament says
that they have decided to come to a
compromise based on the president's guidance and the committee should
ensure that a specific time is given for the Minister to give the workers
money.
Alex Otto
Freelancer