What you need to know:
NSSF management selected five potential beneficiaries, among them their staff, to trial the scheme.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) yesterday conducted a dry run to test the operational efficiency of the customized platform for processing midterm cash transactions.
Eligible claimants, among them members aged 45 or older and have saved for a decade, or persons with disability aged 40 and above who have saved for a similar period, will start applying to receive 20 percent and 50 percent of their benefits, respectively, today.
Yesterday’s system testing exercise at the Fund headquarters at Workers’ House on Pilkington Road in Kampala showed success, according to highly-placed sources.
Our investigations showed that after submitting their particulars, including information about the requirements, the individuals piloting the midterm cash access received an automated message on their mobile phone handsets, confirming successful application and a notification that the processing would take at most 45 “working days”.
The system feedback, referencing working days, appeared to contradict previous public proclamations, including by the Gender minister Betty Amongi that the period for processing the money could at most stretch to 45 calendar days.
Under the midterm access regulations gazetted last Friday, claims will only be processed on weekdays, excluding public holidays, and between 8am to 5pm.
The latest revelations that the 45 days reference means working days, implies the processing of a claim could stretch into the third month.
In response to our inquiries confirming the yesterday’s test run and redefinition of the “45 days”, NSSF communications manager Victor Karamagi, said: “Let’s talk about that tomorrow (today). It’s the main subject the managing director (Richard Byarugaba) will talk about [to media fraternity] and we will take you [journalists] to witness the process and the technology that we are using [to process payments].”
