Tanzania Parliament hails NSSF’s contribution to Vision 205O strategies

DODOMA: THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Welfare and Community Development has commended the Prime Minister’s Office – Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for effective fund management and implementing strategies that contribute to the National Development Vision 2050.

The commendation was made in Dodoma by the committee’s chairperson, Hawa Mchafu, when the committee received a report on NSSF’s performance in providing services to members in the private sector.

Mchafu urged NSSF to strengthen and expand public education on the importance of social security, taking into account different groups across all productive sectors, particularly the formal sector.

The committee also praised the government for its decision to waive penalties imposed on employers who delay remitting workers’ contributions, saying the measure would ease the burden on employers and improve the business environment.

Meanwhile, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, Deus Sangu, said NSSF’s priorities include expanding access to inclusive social security services for all citizens.

Sangu said NSSF was continuing to improve access to healthcare services in line with the second pillar of Development Vision 2050, which focuses on human capabilities and development.

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He added that the government and NSSF were continuing to educate the public, including through the introduction of an improved social security scheme for self-employed people, enabling them to access benefits similar to those available to formal-sector employees.

The minister further revealed that NSSF membership had increased by 65 per cent, from 1,358,882 in the 2023/24 financial year to 2,243,901 in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. Membership in the social security scheme also rose by 357 per cent, from 142,314 to 650,207.

NSSF Director General Masha Mshomba told the committee that the fund was planning to expand its membership by reaching specific groups, including food vendors and small-scale traders.

Mshomba said the strategy aims to ensure that self-employed people have access to social security benefits, thereby strengthening their welfare and income security in old age.