BUJUMBURA February 2nd (ABP) – The Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni proceeded on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 in Bujumbura, to the validation of the report of the technical commission responsible for proposing concrete measures for the implementation of social security reforms, part retirement pension, in the presence of members of the government, executives of the presidency and the Prime Minister, MPs, representatives of insurance associations, the association of industrialists, the COSYBU, the association of pensioners of Burundi and others, so that they give their contributions to enrich the said report in order to implement the reforms of the social security sector envisaged by the government of Burundi.
In his opening address, the Prime Minister first recalled that this meeting is organized on the wish of the President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye who wants to improve the living conditions of retirees following the observation that they receive a pension very low or even insignificant monthly pension in relation to an employee who has devoted his whole life to the service of the Nation.
He pointed out that the report under analysis was limited to the social protection systems, retirement pension component, for the schemes managed by the INSS and the ONPR. According to him, the results of the said report show that there are still challenges to be met since some employers in the three sectors, including the public, parastatal and private sectors, do not contribute for their employees. He also added that according to the results of that same study that, over a period of 11 years, that is to say from 2010 to 2020, the arrears of unpaid contributions are estimated at 119,915,347,302 BIF, i.e., the annual average of more than 10,274.178,389 BIF.
For that reason, the Prime Minister took this opportunity to recommend to all employers in the 3 public, parastatal and private sectors, to contribute regularly for their employees in order to improve the living conditions of pensioners in their retirement. Employees, he recommended, follow up to check whether their employers are contributing regularly to avoid surprises at the end of their career.
In the same framework of ideas, this authority invited the head of the INSS to organize a census, in the near future, to identify employers in the public, parastatal and private sectors contributing, their geographical location in the country and to encourage non-members. contributors to regularize contributions as soon as possible to prepare for the implementation of the reforms envisaged by the government.
During the presentation of the report by Ir. Schadrack Niyonkuru, who is the president of the technical commission in charge of analyzing the reforms of the social security sector, he indicated that the results obtained show that the internal budget at the INSS is insufficient. to implement the reforms envisaged in the public, parastatal and private sectors, that external budgetary support is therefore necessary. According to Mr. Niyonkuru, the same results show that the desire of the highest authority to grant a pension equal to the last net monthly salary in the private sector is achievable with budget support to the INSS.
He indicated that the year 2022 is proposed as a year of transition reserved for preparations before the implementation of reforms, including the organization of a census to identify contributors, organization of forums to raise awareness among social partners, legal frameworks and regulatory authority in place.
During the exchanges, the participants raised the concern of the implementation of these reforms, explaining the arrears of the State towards the INSS which amount to more than 30 billion BIF and the financing of the budget support to the INSS by the State which come as a contradiction. The Prime Minister reassured by saying that the State is ready to recover all the debt it has towards the INSS. Concerning the financing of the implementation of these reforms, the Prime Minister also pointed out that the State is capable of putting in place strategies for mobilizing this financing.
The participants also proposed that at the time of the calculations, to also take into consideration retirees before 2020, also taking into account the devaluation of the Burundian currency and the life which continues to be expensive. The Prime Minister replied that this report will be enriched at the level of the Council of Ministers, the Parliament and the President of the Republic who will validate it last and that all these grievances will be taken into consideration. Regarding the challenge of the absence of a legal framework, the Prime Minister indicated that a law on social protection is being revised.
After the exchanges, the Prime Minister validated this report while specifying that the commission has not yet completed its work.