Nformi Sonde Kinsai
30 November 2008
Labour and Social Security Minister, Prof. Robert Nkili, has disclosed that the reformulation of the Cameroon social security scheme would include farmers. He made the disclosure in Yaounde recently after his meeting with the committee in charge of the modernisation of Cameroon's social security.
According to Prof. Nkili, it is unacceptable that as much as 90 percent of the country's population remains uncovered by the social security scheme. He said the modernisation of the social security would give farmers and other stakeholders of the informal sector, who also contribute enormously to the development of the nation, the opportunity to pay in social dues and benefit from the scheme at retirement.
He said the 10 percent of Cameroonians registered with the National Social Insurance Fund, CNPS, are dominantly civil servants. "Our philosophy of modernising the social security scheme is to go beyond this figure and make Cameroonians feel protected. We want a situation where when people are sick, their hospital bills are partly or totally paid from the scheme," he told the press.
Meanwhile, in an earlier address to the committee members, Nkili recalled that when his ministry was created in 2004, a re-organisational text of 2005 gave it the responsibility of conceiving and applying the national social security policy.
Nkili said, in the wake of the mission assigned his ministry and in line with a Prime Ministerial decision, the committee members have the task of examining, analysing and validating work done by a pilot committee charged with the rehabilitation of CNPS and the reform of social security.
The pilot committee was put in place in 1998 thanks to financial assistance from the then Ministry of the Economy and Finance and the World Bank. The Minister added that the committee on the modernisation of social security is also responsible for formulating appropriate recommendations in view of developing a harmonious social security scheme.
He revealed that in 2005 and 2006, intense reflection on modernisation [of social security] at the national scale and within the services of CNPS was undertaken and it was therefore time to exploit and validate the work for integration in the social security reform.
From a programme of work presented by the Head of Secretariat, Mr. Noah Manga, the committee is expected to submit a final copy of its work to the Prime Minister on January 13, 2009. Manga is also the Inspector General in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The 31 committee members are drawn from various public administrations, national and international socio-professional organisations as well as some diplomatic missions in Yaounde. Finances to ease the work of the committee are being provided by CNPS and the government of Cameroon.
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