By Amin Kef Sesay
A nationwide sensitisation programme for the personnel of the Sierra Leone Police held at the Kingtom Senior Police Officers Mess in Freetown was conducted by the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) and the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), on the 20th October, 2020.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Internal Affairs, David Maurice Panda-Noah enjoined Police personnel to not only ensure that their records are correct and up-to-date but to also be part of the process of social security saying they are partners in the quest of a sustainable scheme. He said Government believes in citizens’ engagement and therefore members of the public are fully engaged in the day to day running of the State.
“It is out of this strong conviction that NASSIT is here to talk to you. We are talking and engaging in order to understand the process,” the Minister emphasised.
He lauded the efforts of Director General and staff of NASSIT for the timely engagement with the Sierra Leone Police and encouraged personnel to make good use of the exercise, gain knowledge, check for the correctness of their data, update regularly and ask relevant questions to clear their doubts about the scheme.
Panda-Noah said the nature of employment of the Sierra Leone Police made it imperative that some tangible arrangements should be put in place for serving personnel to enable them live respectable and dignified lives after retirement.
In his statement, the Director General of NASSIT, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, reminded his audience that, “NASSIT is a statutory Public Trust charged with the responsibility of administering the Sierra Leone National Pension Scheme”.
According to him the Scheme provides retirement and other benefits to meet the contingency needs of workers and their dependants.
He intimated how the engagement was borne out of a request by the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police for a nationwide engagement with its personnel also revealing how the launching marked the commencement of a programme that would take NASSIT to every area of Police deployment in the country.
“This event is divided into two phases. The one launched today will see NASSIT meeting personnel across the Western Area and in the remaining months of 2020, during which the second phase will take place in the remaining regions of the country in the early part of 2021,” the Director General divulged.
Mr. Daboh used the occasion to re-emphasise NASSIT’s commitment to the timely process and pay benefits contingent on the correctness of the data available at the time of application.
The NASSIT Director General also informed his audience that among other improvements, his administration introduced Project 54+ with the sole aim of mitigating the delays in the payment of benefits.
“We have also introduced Project 54+ which primary mandate is to interface with our customers from both the public and private sectors in order to ensure that the scheme members’ data are up-to-date before they apply for their benefits. When this is done correctly, it will ensure timely processing and payment of benefits,” the Director General stated.
On his part, the Inspector General of Police, Ambrose Michael Sovula, appreciated the Director and Staff of NASSIT for what he called a timely and laudable venture, adding that the engagement of NASSIT and the Sierra Leone Police would undoubtedly help to ease most of the challenges the Police personnel face in their interactions with the Trust.
Mr. Sovula explained that most of those challenges are as a result of lack of proper knowledge of the scheme, and therefore implored NASSIT to always liaise with the Gender and Human Resources Division of Sierra Leone Police Force saying they are always willing and ready to cooperate.
The Inspector General of Police registered his confidence and trust in the current Director General of NASSIT maintaining that the ugly past of NASSIT would be put to rest with Mr. Mohamed Fuaad Daboh at the helm of Affairs.
“The Police have not been living a dignified and respectable life after retirement but with the New Direction under the leadership of President Bio things will be fixed for the better”, he concluded.
The programme was climaxed with a presentation on key models of the scheme followed by a question and answer session.
