By Edward Vamboi
Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, the Director-General of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASIT), on the 11th February 2021 joined his staff on a nationwide engagement with the Sierra Leone Police at Gbalamuya, Kambia District in the Northwest Region.
The Director-General commended the Minister of Internal Affairs and the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) for paving a smooth sensitization platform between NASSIT and their personnel.
He informed the gathering that the Gbalamuya program is part of an ongoing nationwide sensitization engagement with the SLP that was launched by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Inspector General of Police last year at the Kingtom Senior Officers Mess in Freetown.
“Since February 2021,”Mr. Daboh explained, “NASSIT Staff in collaboration with the Police have been traversing every part of the country in pursuit of the engagement,” adding that a similar activity was conducted for members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) in July 2020.
The Director-General explained that like the military, the presentation for the Police constituted topics such as the NASSIT Scheme, benefits and their qualifying conditions, causes of delay in accessing those benefits, challenges with the Police and their solutions, and a question-and-answer session.
“These topics were carefully tailored to meet the needs of members of the Police Force, and I expect that by the end of this engagement, your personnel will be well informed about our processes, and will take the right steps to address their challenges,” he stated.
The DG described the Police as “a unique community that constitutes a greater portion of the Scheme membership that have contributed tremendously to the development of the Scheme”. He assured them that as Director General, he would ensure that his core mandate of bringing the Scheme closer to its members and the timely processing and payment of benefit were fully attained.
He encouraged the personnel to take full advantage of the sessions to have a clear understanding of the scheme, and called on the leadership to encourage Police Officers to update their records and make NASSIT a worthy partner.
“NASSIT is owned by you the people and should therefore be protected by us all,” he concluded.
Representing the Inspector General of Police, Chief Superintendent Alex Kargbo praised the Director-General for his selflessness and dedication, adding that his presence is a testament to the importance he attached to the course of the Sierra Leone Police, and his determination to address problems associated with benefits payment. He called on the serving personnel to treat the engagement seriously and take advantage of the engagement by taking the right steps to address their issues with NASSIT.
He assured NASSIT of the commitment of the Sierra Leone Police, particularly the Inspector General, to the exercise and the platform for continued engagement.
On his part, the Local Unit Commander (LUC) of the Kambia Police Division, Chief Superintendent Ibrahim Theophilus Zachariah Tarawally, who doubled as Chairman for the event, expressed gratitude to the Director-General and Management of NASSIT for what he called “a show of commitment and a sense of purpose”. He described the nationwide sensitization and engagement with the Sierra Leone Police as more than necessary.
According to the LUC, most of their personnel at the point of retirement did not understand the Scheme processes and procedures, but he expressed the hope that engagement with them would serve as an opportunity to deepen their understanding, correct every mistake and misinformation, update their records, and lay the platform for a continuous engagement.
He called on his officers to pay keen attention to the presentations and ask the relevant questions that would increase their knowledge on the Scheme.
The engagement ended with presentations on thematic areas of the scheme and a question-and-answer session.
