The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi, has emphasized that Uganda’s retirement benefits sector will play a critical role in driving the country’s ambitious tenfold economic growth agenda.
Speaking on Friday evening during the inaugural meeting between the new Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Henry Tumukunde, and the leadership of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) at Emin Pasha Hotel in Nakasero, Kampala, Minister Musasizi said pension funds provide the long-term domestic capital required to finance investment, deepen capital markets, support infrastructure development, and reduce reliance on external borrowing.
He noted that institutions such as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Parliamentary Pension Scheme, and the Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme have a strategic role to play in Uganda’s economic transformation.
Minister Musasizi said his priorities as Finance Minister are anchored on achieving the government’s USD 500 billion economy target, maintaining strict budgetary discipline, enhancing domestic revenue mobilization, supporting the Presidential Wealth Creation agenda, and promoting smart oil governance.
He urged the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and NSSF to focus on expanding social security coverage, particularly among workers in the informal sector, promoting voluntary savings, strengthening financial literacy, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring that members’ funds are invested prudently and transparently.
The Finance Minister also underscored the importance of effective regulation in the retirement benefits sector, calling on stakeholders to support the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) in promoting a stable, well-regulated, and trusted pension industry.
Meanwhile, NSSF Board Chairman Dr. David Ogong and Managing Director Patrick Ayota said the Fund is shifting its strategy to mobilize patient capital that will support Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
They said the timing is right to leverage the Fund’s UGX 32 trillion in assets to deliver greater value to the country and contribute meaningfully to national development.
