For informal Sector Scheme… NASSIT DG Solicits Support From Chinese Government
The Director General of the National Social Security and Insurance, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, on Tuesday, 11th June 2025, called for collaboration and support from the People’s Republic of China for the establishment and operationalisation of the proposed Informal Sector Pension Scheme in Sierra Leone.
Mr Daboh made this appeal during a high-powered meeting with senior staff of the Chinese Embassy in Freetown, during which he expressed appreciation and gratitude to the Chinese Government for their continued support to Sierra Leone in the areas of education through scholarships, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health and diplomacy, thereby immensely contributing to the development of the country.
Updating the Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Peng Wang, who represented the Chinese Ambassador, Director General Daboh described the NASSIT Scheme as a statutory Public Trust charged with the responsibility to provide retirement and other benefits to meet the contingency need of workers and their target beneficiaries.
He added that the Scheme has, in the past two decades, done remarkably well in providing social security protection to over 87% of members in the formal sector. However, the Director General noted that extending social protection to the Informal Sector has been a Herculean task.
The NASSIT strongman spoke at length about the strides made so far to establish a social security scheme that speaks to the needs of the informal sector in Sierra Leone. According to him, upon his appointment in 2018 and with the desired mindset of his team to change the trajectory, NASSIT engaged development partners such International Labour Organisation (ILO) for technical support, upon which both internal and external structures were developed, such as the Steering and Technical Committees and an in-house Informal Sector Secretariat. This was followed by the inauguration and training of both committees, a diagnostic study to ascertain the social security priority needs of informal sector workers and an inception actuarial valuation that provides various options, including benefits package, contribution rate, etc and their corresponding costs.
Mr. Daboh went on to explain that the Technical Committee has put together a draft policy design of the new Scheme, which has been validated not only by the ILO but by the Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security and members of the Steering Committee.
To proceed with the implementation of this strategic initiative, the Director General highlighted, among others, the need for a nationwide stakeholder engagement to raise awareness on proposed design features of the informal sector scheme, the validation of the National Informal Sector Policy Framework, the submission of the draft policy to Cabinet, the Legislative Process of transforming the policy into law and the operationalization of the Scheme as priority initiatives for the new Scheme.
In conclusion, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh solicited collaboration, cooperation with and support from the Chinese Embassy for the operationalisation of the Salone Informal Sector Pension Scheme in areas such as training, ICT Infrastructure and capacity building, among others.
Responding, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy congratulated the NASSIT Director General and team on such a milestone achievement, and acknowledged that there had been a longstanding relationship between the peoples of China and Sierra Leone, dating back to the 1970s.
Mr. Wang further highlighted China’s contribution to Sierra Leone through various forms of assistance, including funding infrastructure projects, providing economic and technical aid, and debt cancellation, which have enhanced the rebuilding of Sierra Leone in areas like agricultural development, construction and health. He assured the NASSIT Director General of his country’s commitment to the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and pledged unflinching support to the Salone Informal Sector Pension Scheme.
The meeting concluded with the presentation of the draft policy on the proposed Informal Sector Pension Scheme and the status update on progress made so far.
