Covid-19 has caused devastating impact on companies globally, most especially those ones that did not spread their risk well on different investment portfolios. Uganda’s NSSF is one of them ladies and gentlemen.
Our organization, the Uganda Poor Youth wrote various opinions criticking the manner in which Mr. Byarugaba Richard, the MD of NSSF chose to refuse to invest in agriculture yet it is one of the most profitable business, even right now in the Covid-19 season.
Agriculture which is the backbone of our economy employs about 75% of Ugandans, and is facing various problems including poor quality tools and seeds. We can decide to use a good fraction of workers savings to boost the sector directly. This year, it is more likely that workers might not receive interest on their savings because many sectors like Real estate, bonds have suffered a big shock during this time.
NSSF is mandated by law to collect workers savings for social security and the money is collected on individual accounts and invested which attracts annual interest depending on annual returns on investment. With total assets worth Ugx 11.3 trillions which are even spread abroad, we don’t have any penny invested in agriculture. All those pension towers buildings have a 20 years payback period whereby they don’t help to transform our society in a broader spectrum since Agriculture has a long value chain hence employing many Ugandans and grows the industrial sector.
We ask government to tell NSSF to change its investment policy in order to transform the agricultural sector. We also ask government to make it a policy that every government agency should have a sound agricultural department. How come that Makerere University agricultural department can’t supply our reserves with at least three tonnes of maize!
Agriculture modernisation with involvement of the NSSF will not only increase the quantity of our agricultural output but also the quality that meets international standards.
We have a target of 20m bags of coffee, if an agency like NSSF can subcontract an experienced company whether local or foreign but with local content, to produce 10million bags of coffee, you don’t know how our agricultural exports and foreign revenue would be.
Ask we speak now, Agriculture is going to be the spring board to push forward our economy which has been torn apart by Covid-19.
Africans should start to have tailored solutions to problems than this copy and paste syndrome.
Big up to companies that have greatly invested in agriculture among them:
1.Uganda prisons
2.Ruparelia group of companies.
Ben Ssebuguzi Secretary General Uganda Poor youth Movement
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