On Tuesday, 6th August 2024, the Director General of the National Social Security, and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, presented a comprehensive progress report on the Informal Sector Project to the Minister of Employment, Labour, and Social Security, Mohamed Rahman Swaray.
The project aims to extend NASSIT’s coverage beyond the formal sector to include workers in Sierra Leone’s informal sector, which constitutes over 70% of the country’s population.
During the briefing, Minister Swaray expressed satisfaction with NASSIT’s leadership, commending the agency’s commitment to the project. He referred to the update as a “call to action,” acknowledging the rarity of agencies proactively engaging their leadership to report on their contributions towards the minister’s performance contract. He emphasized that expanding social security coverage to the informal sector aligns closely with President Julius Maada Bio’s priorities, given that the formal sector currently covers only about 9% of the population.
Minister Swaray highlighted the government’s serious commitment to social protection for the informal sector, noting that his first major engagement as Minister of Labour involved a well-attended steering committee meeting on this issue. He reiterated that extending social security to the informal sector is crucial for maintaining sustainable peace, stability, and security in Sierra Leone.
NASSIT’s Director-General, Fuaad Daboh, described the occasion as an opportunity to fulfil his duty to update the Minister, the President, and the people of Sierra Leone on the project’s progress. He noted that while NASSIT has successfully provided coverage for the formal sector over the past 20 years, the informal sector has remained underserved.
In 2015, preliminary studies and consultations were initiated to develop a scheme tailored to the needs of informal workers. With support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), NASSIT has since conducted training and studies to assess public willingness to join the scheme. Daboh expressed gratitude for the ILO’s technical and financial support, as well as the continued political will demonstrated by the president and the oversight provided by Minister Swaray.
A PowerPoint presentation of the comprehensive status report, delivered by the Coordinator of the Informal Sector Scheme, Cyril Jalloh, climaxed the event.
