Government completes NSSF board appointments

Kampala. The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) board is now fully constituted after Investment minister Evelyn Anite appointed two more members to it.
Mr Peter Christopher Werikhe and Mr Stephen Mugole from the National Organisation of Trade Unions (Notu) were appointed to the board after court last month ordered government to comply with the Cabinet directive on appointing the two workers’ representatives.

“In the exercise of the powers entrusted to me by Section 3 (2) of the National Social Security Fund Act 1985, I am pleased to appoint you as member of the board of directors/trustees of the NSSF for a period of three years effective April 4, 2019,” Ms Anite’s letter to Mr Mugole reads in part. Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana had advised Cabinet to respect the court ruling and appoint the duo.

Legal opinion
“I have perused the court ruling and decree. Both of them are self-explanatory. Since the court order is clear and unambiguous, we are legally obliged to obey. I advise you to obey the court order,” Mr Rukutana told Minister Anite in an April 4 letter.
On March 15, the head of High Court Civil Division, Justice Andrew Bashaija, faulted the Uganda Retirement Benefits and Regulatory Authority (URBRA) for overstepping its mandate when it directed on the suitability of candidates to serve on the NSSF board.

In December last year, Notu nominated Mr Werikhe and Mr Mugole to represent workers on the NSSF board but URBRA rejected them, compelling the workers’ union to go to court.
Notu’s sister organisation, the Central Organisation of Free Trade Union, is supposed to nominate four workers’ representatives to the same board, according to the Cabinet decision of September 24, 2008.

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