URGENT measures should be taken to promote formalisation of the economy to facilitate increased social security cover for female workers who are disproportionately represented in the informal sector when compared to their male counterparts, resulting in their exclusion from available social security benefit schemes.

As Zimbabwe pushes the momentum towards attainment of an upper middle income economic status by 2030, experts have stressed the need to widen social security cover as part of efforts to alleviate poverty and cushioning ordinary people from potential risk exposures. 

The Constitution of Zimbabwe, Chapter Two Subsection 30, obliges the State to take all practical measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to provide social security and social care to those who are in need.

Social security, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) refers to the protection that society provides to individuals and households to guarantee income security in the event of lifecycle risks such as old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, employment injury, maternity or loss of a bread winner.

In Zimbabwe, official statistics from ZimStat indicate that 83,8 percent of workers are employed in the informal sector, which suggests that very few people are covered by the available National Social Security Authority (NSSA) schemes and other private sector driven pension and insurance schemes, which largely target those formally employed.

NSSA currently administers two schemes – the mandatory Pension and Other Benefits Scheme (POBS) in line with Statutory Instrument 393 of 1993 and the Accident Prevention and Workers Compensation Scheme (APWCS), supported by Statutory Instrument 68 of 1990. 

Whereas POBS covers permanent, seasonal, contract or temporary employment, the APWCS enhances workplace safety and offers financial support for workers in the event of an injury in the workplace. The later covers all formally employed workers regardless of age, except Government workers and domestic workers.

Speaking during a recent Journalists Mentorship Programme, director of social security at NSSA, Mr Shepherd Muperi, said the informalisation of the economy has generally weakened the social security cover base and expressed concern over the lower number of females covered under NSSA schemes, in particular.

“The female population covered by our schemes is much smaller compared to males. This means that in our country, we’ve got very few females engaged in formal employment.

“It actually entails that they are employed in the informal economy. It means the women are disproportionately represented in the informal sector,” said Mr Muperi. 

Making reference to the latest Zimstat Quarterly Labour Force Survey, which indicates that total labour force in Zimbabwe hovers around 4,1 million, the NSSA official said out of this figure, NSSA has a total of 1,32 million active contributors with a total inactive contributor membership of about 1,4 million.

“The pensions and other benefits active membership constitutes approximately 32 percent of the 4,1 million labour force. So, our schemes cover only 32 percent of the people who are formally employed,” said Mr Muperi.

“The high number of inactive contributors and low coverage is reflective of the informalisation in the economy. As such, we have a huge number in the informal economy, which is supposed to be covered as we aim to eradicate poverty. 

“It’s an area to be looked at as we seek to extend social security cover. This necessitates coverage extension to the informal economy,” said Mr Muperi. 

There is consensus that more collaborative efforts are needed for Zimbabwe to scale up social security cover for all workers, which is regarded as a human right in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 and The African Union Protocol, on Social Protection.

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