Vice-Minister Remarks On Additional Pension

The Deputy Minister of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security (MAPESS), Sebastião Lukinda, Thursday, September 11 in Luanda exhorted employers to establish complentary pension systems that give workers better living standars after retirement.

Mr Lukinda, who was speaking in the 2nd Colloquy on Complementary Social Protection, said these rules will improve the conditions of the workers, who mostly get low pensions, and will also stimulate them to work more.

Besides getting social security pensions, at company level, the workers might also benefit of pension funds and mutualist associations, he said, adding that the pension fund contributes to the growth of the Angolan economiy and stability of recipients when they retire.

He said, however, that the creation of these funds are too costly, and for this reason the complementary pensions are firstly being made by big companies such as Sonangol (the national oil company).

MAPESS National Director for Social Security, Abraão Benchimol, also stressed the need to reactivate te mutualist associations and the creation of new ones under social and professional frameworks.

He said the strengthening and diversity of these institutions could lead to the improvement of social protection, since it renders individual savings possible, in a facultative solidarity, thus contributing to the creation of development poles and well being.

In Angola, he said, these associations started appearing in 1924 with the creation of Montepio Railway of Angola , but after the independence their structures were completely deactivated.

Since the approval of the 1/99 decree of March 12, that regulates the mutualist creation, many mutualist associations linked to various ministries appeared in Luanda and Benguela.

Mutualist associations are particular social solidarity institutions with an unlimited number of members, undetermined capital and indefinite duration which, mostly through money raising, carry out reciprocal assistance.

The colloquy aims to assess the current state of social protection and outline the new ways and challenges , after the approval of the decree on this matter in 1999.

Themes such as "Develpment perspectives of mutualism" and "Pension funds as institutional investors in Angola", are being discussed.

Attending the colloquy are Members of Parliament with the 4th ad 5th parliamentary commissions, the managers of various companies of the Angolan labour market, social partners and trade unions.