A success story is being told at the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) following the meticulous implementation of a five-year Strategic Plan, introduced in 2008.
The document, which focused on five targets, has re-positioned the social security program beyond its prewar status, and the institution is providing efficient services to employers and employees under the schemes.
The plan has enhanced effective service delivery and fulfilled the purpose of the social security program that contributions received have been invested into realistic and profitable ventures thus yielding dividends while the human resource capacity of the corporation has been upgraded to sustain the gains.
The automation development process introduced shortly after the launching of the strategic plan has now lead to the re-documentation of the registration record system, prompted by difficulties with the corporation’s poor record system. As a result, almost all employers and employees under the program have been re-documented.
A new beneficiary record system was introduced, beginning with the direct bank payment service that enables beneficiaries to receive their benefits through accounts established by NASSCORP at various banking institutions around the country.
This was followed by a series of biometric exercise intended to uniquely identify beneficiaries covered under the scheme. At the end of the 2013 biometric exercise, the database recorded 6,764 beneficiaries. These exercises brought to an end the problem of payroll pilfering by unscrupulous individuals and others.
In adherence to the Strategic Investment Policy guidelines crafted by the management, the Investment Division took bold initiatives, and with the support and approval of the Board of Directors, the investment portfolio of the corporation has increased specifically in four core categories: Real estate, equity, loans and guarantee, and commercial enterprise.
Prior to the crafting of these Strategic Investment Policy guidelines, the investment portfolio of the corporation stood at US$ 4.7 million 2006. With prudent and sound investment policies, as at June 2014, the portfolio increased to US$ 33.7 million. This represents an increase of US$ 27 million.
These laudable accomplishments cannot be maintained in the absence of trained manpower. The management, being cognizant of this necessity, engaged in a wide range of human resource trainings locally, sub-regionally and across Europe, Asia and America. These initiatives have contributed to empowering staff members who are now capable of sustaining or maintaining gains by the corporation.
Given the quantum leap of the corporation as a result of implementing the outgoing strategic plan, one can safely conclude that a strategic plan is a catalyst for effective service delivery which now service entity can ignore.