KAMPALA – Opposition lynchpin Dr Kizza Besigye has said that now is the time for the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to support its subscribers in the face of coronavirus pandemic.
According to Dr Besigye, NSSF should roll out a programme to pay out a portion of members’ savings to afford them vital support thru the COVID-19 crisis.
“It’s surprising that @nssfug hasn’t, as yet, rolled out a programme to pay out a portion of members’ savings to afford them vital support thru the #COVID19 crisis. Isn’t this what “Social Security”, a safety net, is about?,” he said on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
“This is members’ money; it’s not charity! They can pay only 10-20% of a member’s savings. If there’s any legal impediment for them to do so, Parliament can sit tomorrow and sort it out.
This is a world crisis of unprecedented proportions,” he added.
Dr Besigye’s remarks after 8 more coronavirus cases were confirmed on Tuesday morning. President Museveni is expected to address the nation and announce more safety measures in the event of coronavirus spread.
Last Friday, the Governor Bank of Uganda, Mr Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, said the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the economy is already visible.
He said Bank of Uganda will provide exceptional liquidity assistance for a period of up to one year to financial institutions supervised by BoU that may require it, Waive the limitation on the restructuring of credit facilities at financial institutions that may be at risk of going into distress due to the coronavirus pandemic and Intervene in the foreign exchange market to smoothen out excess volatility arising from the global financial markets.
