August 9, 2021
By Dadson A. Musa
The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), was created by an act of Parliament. Then its formation and implementation was so unpopular that government under president Kabba had to stand its ground to get it implemented. The war had just ended and salaries were meager so Sierra Leoneans were never inclined to part with any percentage of their hard- earned cash.
The scheme was provided with seed money from government and former president Koroma was chairman of that committee in parliament due to his background as an insurance man. The scheme has made some difference in the lives of retirees and some survivors, and has seen investments in real Estate, banking and mortgage, and no regrets absolutely for the formation of NASSIT.
The only snag about saving in the scheme is the continuous devaluation of our currency and hence inflation in the economy. Since independence, our currency the Leone which was pegged to the pound sterling has kept losing its value. And this has brought a very serious concern for value that the money will have for future retirees.
But for the increase to Le250, 000 by this Bio regime our currency devaluation spelled hopelessness for those who were taking away less than Le.50, 000 per month. The ball is therefore in the court of our economists to help stem this inflation causing devaluation of our currency. If this does not happen then our savings in the NASSIT scheme will not mean much. What is of another concern is the formula used by NASSIT to pay retirement lump sum, where people are alleged to be cheated.