NSSA compliance for transport operators now mandatory

Lazarus Sauti

NICHOLAS Dhedhedhe, who stays in Mabvuku, a high-density suburb in Harare, was a commuter omnibus driver who enjoyed his work.

For a decade, he plied the 215.24 km Harare-Nyamapanda route.

Tragedy struck when Dhedhedhe was involved in a road traffic accident near Chivake Bridge on one of his trips.

Fortunately, no one perished as a result of the crash but Dhedhedhe sustained serious leg injuries.

“I was injured when my commuter omnibus veered off the road, hit a tree, and overturned near Chivake Bridge along Harare-Nyamapanda Road. My right leg had to be amputated because of this accident,” he told insure263.co.zw.

Dhedhedhe added that his family is also bearing the brunt of the accident’s effects, a fact supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its 2011 World Report on Disability.

The international public health institution noted that persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their families suffer a permanent decline in quality or standard of life.

As fate would have it, Dhedhedhe’s employer was not really forthcoming in as far as ensuring the welfare of his employee was concerned.

He vanished after paying the first hospital bill, leaving Dhedhedhe at the mercy of a harsh economic environment.

“I feel used and neglected,” he said. “Now I am wallowing in poverty because I cannot work due to continued ill health.”

Because of the lack of social security coverage, Dhedhedhe is now relying on donations from well-wishers, friends, and sometimes his neighbours.

Social protection refers to the protection which society provides for its members through a series of public measures, against the socio-economic distress that otherwise would be caused by the stoppage or considerable reduction of earnings resulting from unemployment, sickness, employment injury, old age, and death.

Dhedhedhe could not benefit from pension or social security coverage because public and commercial transport operators were not contributing to the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), an organisation constituted and established in terms of the NSSA Act of 1989 to provide social security and social care to those who are in need.

These operators are now required to produce a valid NSSA Clearance Certificate when applying for permits to operate as the government seeks to ensure that workers in this sector are covered by a statutory pension fund.

This is according to a joint statement released by the NSSA and Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development (MoTID) recently.

“We now require all public and commercial transport operators to be holders of a valid NSSA Clearance Certificate prior to the renewal or application of an operating transport permit or license,” read the NSSA and MoTID joint statement.

NSSA’s Clearance Certificate is an official document issued by the authority to registered employers liable for NSSA contributions, under any of the Acts administered by the authority.

The Clearance Certificate, which is issued upon request from employers whose contribution accounts are up-to-date, also acts as assurance that the trading partner’s employees are adequately covered by social security schemes enshrined under Section 12 of the Accident Prevention and Workers’ Compensation Scheme, established in terms of Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 68 of 1990.

Transport minister, Joel Biggie Matiza said most drivers and conductors who are injured at work are struggling to make a living as they are financially constrained.

“Accordingly, this move by NSSA and the government, through my ministry, is a welcome development to enhance their safety and social security,” he said, adding that public and commercial transport operators should regularise their standing with NSSA to avoid delays in issuing their operating licenses.

NSSA has already engaged the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) – a road transport company incorporated and registered in Zimbabwe with the mandate to provide rural, urban, and regional passenger travel services – to ensure that commuter omnibuses operating under the transport company can only be engaged after producing a NSSA clearance certificate.

Public transport driver, Gody Muza applauded NSSA and MoTID for coming up with this noble idea.

“As public drivers, we were facing the problem of social security exclusion. We were vulnerable to poverty,” he said. “However, the move by NSSA and MoTID is a blessing to us. Our safety and social security are now prioritised and enhanced.”

For NSSA Chief Social Security Officer, Tambudzai Jongwe, most Zimbabweans are without cover against life cycle risks such as disability, sickness, and work-related injuries.

She added that absence of safety and social security cover against these risks not only traps them in endless poverty but also leads to social exclusion.

“Safety and social security coverage for commercial and public transport operators, therefore, prevent increased risk of workers falling into poverty because it provides income to them when they face contingencies,” Jongwe added.

For long, commercial and public transport operators ran their businesses without complying with the National Social Security Authority (Pension and other Benefits Schemes), 1993 (S.I. 393 of 1993) and Social Security (Financial and Accounting) (Amendment) Regulations, 1990 (S.I. 60 of 1990), which compels them to register and contribute towards their employees’ pension and compensation in the unfortunate event of a work-related injury, illness, or death.

Twitter: @lazarussauti @insure263