Seychelles pension system |28 September 2022
Members of the Eswatini delegation in a souvenir photograph with the Seychelles Pension Fund team
Eswatini delegation satisfied with study tour
A delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini was in Seychelles from September 21-23 on a study tour of the transformation of the Seychelles Pension system from the Seychelles Provident Fund to Seychelles Pension Fund.
The delegation was being led by Hon. Phila Buthelezi, Minister for Labour & Social Security, accompanied by 6 other delegates who included the chief executive of the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF), Prince Lonkhokhela.
The delegation also comprised members of the Eswatini Parliament and officers from the Eswatini Social Security Fund.
The Eswatini delegation has identified with Seychelles Pension Fund experience alongside six other African pension systems to assist them with expertise base on best practices to convert their Provident Fund into a fully-fledged pension system – a task that is currently underway.
The study took a threefold approach;
a) The appreciation of the involvement of the National Assembly in the formulation and oversight role of the legal framework required to set up and operate an accountable and transparent pension system. This was through a meeting with the Speaker and deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Roger Mancienne and Gervais Henrie respectively.
b) The oversight role that the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade plays in the operation of the Seychelles Pension Fund. The meeting was held on September 22 in the presence of the secretary of state Patrick Payet at Liberty House in the presence of other high-level delegates from the Ministry of Finance.
c) The operational and regulatory approaches towards setting up and sustaining the Seychelles Pension Fund. Willy Confait, SPF founding chief executive, joined SPF management team in imparting valuable information to the delegation.
Hon. Buthelezi expressed his satisfaction for the series of meetings and confirmed that the delegation members have gathered invaluable knowledge to guide their own process of changes to that end.
He expressed his intentions to strengthen this working relationship further while they undergo the changes to their pension system.
On her side, the SPF CEO, Nisreen Abdulmajid, expressed her appreciation that the organisation is being viewed as a model for modern pension reform and felt reassured that the organisation is on the right path.
Press release from the Seychelles Pension Fund