A delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini was in Seychelles from Wednesday 21st until Friday 23rd September 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 –Honourable Minister of Labour & Social Security, accompanied by 6 other delegates which included the CEO of the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF), Prince Lonkhokhela. The delegation also comprised of 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;
- 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 Mr. Roger Mancienne and Mr. Gervais Henry respectively.
- 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 Thursday 22nd September in the presence of the Secretary of State Mr. Patrick Payet at Liberty House in the presence of other high-level delegates from the Ministry of Finance.
- The operational and regulatory approaches towards setting up and sustaining the Seychelles Pension Fund. Mr. Willy Confait, SPF founding CEO joined SPF management team in imparting valuable information to the delegation.
The Honourable Buthelezi expressed his satisfaction for the series of meetings and confirm 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 whilst they undergo the changes to their pension system.
On her side, the SPF CEO, Miss 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.
Eswatini delegation with the Ministry of Finance
Eswatini delegation with the National Assembly representatives
