In a bid to increase appreciation and practice of retirement saving among informal sector workers, Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) embarked on a sensitization and education tour, traversing Bunyoro sub-region, covering the districts of Hoima, Masindi, Kagadi and Buliisa.

The URBRA team comprised the Chairman Board of Directors, Hon Julius Bigirwa Junjura, Board member Hon Ronah Ninsiima, and the Chief Manager Corporate and Public Affairs (CMCPA), Hajji Hassan Nakabaale.

During the tour, URBRA engaged a wide range of stakeholders including traditional leaders in Bunyoro Kitara kingdom, district local government leaders, private sector actors and ordinary informal sector workers.  Throughout the region, there was a general desire to learn more about retirement saving, to regularize existing, non-licenced schemes and to establish schemes were non existed.

Key among the stakeholders engaged was the Prime Minister of Buyoro-Kitara Kingdom, the Rt Honorable Andrew Byakutaga, who urged URBRA to scale up its informal sector engagements and reach as many people as possible in various forms of informal employment.

The delegation that visited Hon. Byakutaga was headed by the URBRA Board Chairman, Hon Julius Bigirwa Junjura who informed the Prime Minister that URBRA was carrying out a nationwide campaign to encourage more Ugandans to save for retirement. “URBRA looks forward to seeing informal sector workers save for their retirement in a structured, systematic, controlled, methodically approved manner with flexibilities and without stress. People should save with only schemes that have been licensed by URBRA,” Bigirwa said.   

The Prime Minister requested URBRA to start with the Kingdom staff numbering more than 800, to establish a retirement benefits scheme. He offered to promote URBRA’s informal sector retirement savings agenda by mobilizing his subjects to follow suit. “I will use all the available media channels to mobilize our people to understand your agenda and even arrange for you different forums to address the people of the region on these unique services offered by URBRA,” Hon. Byakutaga said.

Other stakeholders who expressed desire to establish a scheme were leaders of the Masindi District Sugarcane Outgrowers Association (MDOGA), who grow and supply sugarcane to Kinyara Sugar, with an estimated annual turnover of not less than UGX70 billion.

Even though Kinyara Sugar sponsors the association, they are yet to establish a retirement benefits scheme.  URBRA Board Member, Hon Ronah Ninsiima urged leaders of the association to leverage the Kinyara Sugar sponsorship, and set up a scheme and ensure that their members do not suffer old age poverty.

“As leaders, you’re accountable for the welfare and wellbeing of your members even in their old age. So plan effectively for their retirement,” Ninsiima urged the Association leaders.

The Masindi Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr. Emmy Ngabirano, assured MDOGA members that URBRA, as the custodian of pension laws and with the mandate to promote sector development, would protect their savings by licencing and supervising their scheme once they established it. “You can’t escape tomorrow’s responsibility by avoiding it today, so you’re encouraged to save today and enjoy your old life, which is tomorrow,” Ngabirano said.

The Kinyara Sugar Head of Human Resources and Administration, Mr. Kabira Moses, thanked URBRA for effectively supervising retirement benefits schemes under its regulation. Mr Kabira, who is also a trustee of the Kinyara Sugar Provident Fund licenced by URBRA, acknowledged the timely receipt of URBRA’s regulations and policies and expressed gratitude for the trustee training conducted by the Authority.

URBRA also had the opportunity to engage Bwendero Diary Farm Ltd, who expressed the desire to regularize their existing retirement benefits scheme. The General Manager, Mr Albert Bwitira reported that the company, with over 1000 employees, had a Post-Employment Fund with a contributory system and a convincing investment portfolio. However, the scheme was operating without a licence. Mr Bwitira, a former trustee of the Nile Breweries Scheme said that he had implored and convinced the management of Bwendero Diary Farm to establish a scheme, and was now seeking URBRA’s technical support to have the scheme licenced and supervised in order to protect the members’ savings.

Hon. Julius Bigirwa Junjura, thanked Bwendero Farm for prioritizing workers’ welfare saying, “whereas the law does not accept operating unlicensed schemes, URBRA shall, before implementing that section of the law, sensitize and educate the public on the dangers of operating unlicensed schemes.” He assured the management of Bwendero Farm that URBRA would send a technical team to sensitize the Trustees on how their scheme could be licensed.

On their part, the District Local Government leaders urged URBRA to organize pre-retirement seminars for their staff. In Hoima, the Deputy Town Clerk, Mr. Oola Donato, decried the destitute state of former local government staff, who retired without proper plans and misused their pensions. Mr Oola expressed concern that such people lacked pre-retirement education.

The Masindi Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Awio Emmanuel, shared the same sentiments. He noted that Masindi District had never conducted a pre-retirement seminar for their retiring staff. He requested URBRA to facilitate at least one seminar for this financial year.

Similarly, in Kagadi, the district leaders called upon URBRA to conduct pre-retirement seminars and re-engage the informal sector workers to address the issue of voluntary retirement savings.

With such enthusiasm for retirement saving, URBRA assured the stakeholders in Bunyoro sub-region that the Authority would make all possible arrangements to continue with the public sensitization and education in the region, to support budding retirement schemes and to ensure effective supervision of the existing ones.