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ZTP ESSAY WRITING COMPETITIONQUESTION: How Have Social Protection Programs Performed in Zambia and how can they be Improved to be More Responsive to the Needs of Children?Get full instructions here: zambiataxplatform.com/competition/The aim of this completion is to raise awareness on Driving Sustainable Change for Children`s Rights (DSCCR) and promoting community participation in advocacy for children's rights. #SaveTheChildren #ZTP #CTPD #dsccr ...
PRESS STATEMENTZTP Calls for Enhanced Social Security Mechanisms to the Informal SectorLusaka, 24th November 2021: Social Security is the protection that society provides to individuals and households to ensure access to health care and guarantee income security, particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, work injury, maternity, or loss of a breadwinner. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions and United Nations (UN) instruments, social security protection is defined as a basic human right. On a global level, however, only 20 percent of the world’s population has adequate social security coverage, while more than half, lacks any kind of social security protection at all. Currently, Zambia’s legal provisions on social security mostly cover the formal economy with mechanisms developed on a “formal employment” model, with predictable monthly earnings, and a stable and clear employment relationship. To date, however, the majority of the Zambian population do not have access to any form of social security as they earn their living from informal employment. To this effect, over 68 percent of the Zambian workforce is in the informal sector which calls for more efforts for some businesses to formalize their operations. The advantage of this step will be two-fold as such businesses benefit from existing social security mechanisms while the country gains from the enhanced collection of taxes. On the other hand, workers on the outer layer of the informal sector such as domestic workers require an extension of social security. Efforts so far made by the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) to register domestic workers through their online platform eNAPSA for social security leave much to be desired in terms of effectiveness and coverage. Challenges to extending social security to the informal economy include irregular employment arrangements and income patterns, gaps in the legal framework, affordability to subscribe on the worker's side and cost compliance, and financial constraints on the employers’ side. Furthermore, poor knowledge on social security rights and requirements, weak workers representation due to the absence of workers organizations, and weak enforcement mechanisms. Therefore, the existing social security scheme features and mechanisms in Zambia are not adapted for the extension of coverage to the informally employed workers. In view of the aforementioned, ZTP recommends the development of progressive mechanisms that enhance and extend social security coverage to informal workers. A universal, national, government-led approach to delivering social security to informal economy workers is needed, as opposed to unsystematic, decentralized, and fragmented solutions. Not only does this allow for broader risk pooling, and solidarity mechanisms across the workforce and society, but also reinforces a rights-based approach to social protection where the state is the ultimate guarantor of the social security system. Thus, a holistic and national model that can be adapted to different groups in the informal sector should be formulated to encompass diverse employment arrangements and income patterns that may not be compatible with a single model. It is essential to tailor approaches, design specific product features, and develop specific processes for all employment types including the self-employed, casual workers, domestic workers, and where necessary by sector. The social security landscape in Zambia however, remains predominantly of a social insurance model limited to the provision of protection against loss or reduction of income resulting from retirement, disability, and survivorship. This coverage basically encompasses 5 Statutory Schemes: • Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) – The Public Service Pension Act No.35 of 1996 governs the PSPF. The Fund covers employees in the public service including the teaching service and defense forces. The Fund is designed to provide income security in the event of retirement, permanent invalidity, and survivorship. Apart from paying pensions and gratuity (lump sums) to retirees, the Fund acts as a paying agent for the government with regard to death and early retirement cases. The Fund, therefore, relies entirely on the government to clear the latter. • National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) – The National Pension Scheme (NPS) Act of 1996 governs the National Pension Scheme Authority. The scheme aims at affording the workers protection from social hazards by providing them with benefits at the time of retirement to provide income in old age. The scheme also assists the worker with a benefit in the event of physical or mental disability due to permanent illness or mental disturbances which may deny regular employment.• Local Authorities Superannuation Fund (LASF) – The Fund was created under the Government Notice No.314 of 1954 and covers employees of the local authorities prior to February 1, 2000. The Fund is designed to provide income security in the event of retirement, permanent invalidity and survivorship. The LASF CAP 284 of the Laws of Zambia governs the operations of this Fund.• Workers Compensation Fund Control Board (WCFCB) – This provides employment injury protection to all private and public sector workers except permanent civil servants, teachers, police, and the armed forces. The rates of contributions to the fund vary according to industries. The fund caters for pension benefits, the survivors’ benefits paid to widows and guardians, and temporal periodic payments are made to individuals as they undergo treatment. The Workers Compensation Act No. 10 of 1999 governs the WCFCB.• Pension and Insurance Authority (PIA) – This is the regulatory and supervisory authority for the pensions and insurance industry in Zambia. It is created by the Pensions Scheme regulation Act No. 28 of 1996 (as amended by Act No. 27 of 2005). Notably, these Statutory Schemes have been in existence over time but by virtue of only targeting the formal sector, makes them regressive.Issued By Ellen Makinishi (Ms)Private Sector Enhancement ExpertTel: +260211264409Phone: +260968015985Email: pse@zambiataxplatform.comWebsite: www.zambiataxplatform.com...
World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.Since 1990, World Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention on children's rights.Mothers and fathers, teachers, nurses and doctors, government leaders and civil society activists, religious and community elders, corporate moguls and media professionals, as well as young people and children themselves, can play an important part in making World Children's Day relevant for their societies, communities and nations.Scr: www.un.org/en/observances/world-childrens-dayWorld Children's Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children's rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children. ...
🇿🇲2022 National Budget Allocations by Government Function.#3 SPENDING ON HEATHA healthy population provides sufficient human capital for individuals to contribute to economic development.The key highlights of the 2022 national budget allocation to health includes the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and the recruitment of 11,200 health workers. This will help to improve the quality of healthcare, reduce the shortage of health personnel and reduce the backlog of unemployed health professionals. Although, the proposed Government allocation to the health sector in 2022 is a positive indication of its commitments to improving the health of the nation amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges in the sector, it still falls short of international standards such as the Abuja declaration on health. ...
ATTENTION: PARENTS, GUARDIANS, TEACHERS (Lusaka and Rufunsa)CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTERESTWe are looking for children who can participate in our podcast series to push for sustainable change towards children`s rights.Apply and Download Concept Note: zambiataxplatform.com/ztp-podcast/The ZTP podcast is supported by SAVE THE CHILDREN and the Swedish Development Assistance and implemented by the Zambia Tax Platform (ZTP) and the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) ...
