Source: Nssa moves under Ipec supervision – herald
Farirai Machivenyika, farirai.machivenyika@zimpapers.co.zw
The National Social Security Authority (Nssa) will now fall under the oversight of the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) following the signing into law of the IPEC Amendment Act by President Mnangagwa last Friday.
The announcement of the President’s assent to the law was made by the Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya, in General Notice 555 of 2026 published in an Extraordinary Government Gazette.
“The following law, which was assented to by His Excellency the President, is published in terms of subsection 6(a) of section 131 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe — Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Act 2026 (No 2),” Dr Rushwaya said.
According to Section 4 (a) of the new law, the functions and powers of the Commission include, “to register insurers, mutual insurance societies, insurance brokers, medical aid societies and pension and provident funds and the National Social Security Authority to ensure that they maintain set standards and ensure compliance with the Insurance Act [Chapter 24:07] and the Pensions and Provident Funds Act [Chapter 24:32], as the case may be.”
Nssa is a statutory body established to provide a national social insurance safety net and was until the signing of the new law, under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
The President’s assent to the new law put paid to efforts by some stakeholders that had lobbied him not to append his signature following its passage in Parliament.
The stakeholders include Nssa itself and the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.
TNF serves as Zimbabwe’s primary forum for social dialogue, uniting the Government, business and labour and its mandate includes fostering consultation among these key stakeholders and providing strategic economic counsel to policymakers.
The Ipec Amendment Act was steered in Parliament by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, who said the new law intended to strengthen accountability at Nssa following numerous instances of abuse of funds and poor corporate governance at the State-run pension fund established to provide a national social insurance safety net to workers.
However, Nssa and the TNF said that the move to transfer oversight of the institution posed a “structural risk” to workers’ savings and argued that Ipec lacked the necessary capacity to superintend Nssa as it is mainly focused on private entities.
Other objectives of the Ipec Amendment Act include to regulate, supervise and monitor the insurance and pensions sector; promote the maintenance of a fair, safe and stable insurance and pensions sector for the benefit and protection of policy owners and pension and provident fund members; ensure that the insurance and pensions sector adheres to principles of accountability and transparency; and promote and encourage the development of the insurance and pensions sectors.”
The new law will also establish the Policyholder and Pensions and Provident Fund Members Protection Fund, which shall be vested in and administered by the Board in accordance with the Act.
The Fund will be managed by a Board appointed by the Minister of Finance and will among other things be responsible for paying compensation to beneficiaries for losses incurred by them in the event of a contributor becoming insolvent.
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