EMPLOYERS are struggling to remit deductions made to employees’ salaries to the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) which was owed $217 million as at December 31, 2015.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
According to the 2015 Comptroller and Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s report, NSSA was also owed close to $200m by government, local authorities and parastatals.
She said the situation might result in NSSA failing to settle current and future pension obligations if they do not follow up on payments.
The majority of Zimbabweans draw their pensions from NSSA, which also embarks on investments in order to keep the pension fund afloat.
The report also stated that the top 10 NSSA debtors owed a total of $100 675 801,56.
The debtors included State employees ($91m), Air Zimbabwe ($1,4m), Chitungwiza Municipality ($720 783), City of Harare ($831 188), Farm and City Centre ($597 315), Harare Water and Sanitation ($631 562), TN Harlequin Luxaire Limited (S618 600), Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation ($1,8m) and Zimbabwe National Water Authority ($1,9m).
Other agencies owed $97m in arrears as at December 31, 2015.
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“The authority is deprived of funds for its daily operations and investment opportunities,” Chiri said in the audit report. “A non-performing debtors’ book creates liquidity challenges which have a direct impact on the Authority’s ability to settle current and future obligations.”
The audit report recommended that NSSA should continue engaging those non-paying government departments and business entities to recover outstanding amounts.
In their response, NSSA management said while some outstanding bills were current, failure of public entities to remit contributions severely affected the authority’s cash flow.
“Efforts have been made to recover outstanding contributions, including garnishees, legal recoveries and entering into payment plans, with some of them bearing fruit,” NSSA was quoted as having told Chiri’s office.
Some of the institutions that promised payment were government, which undertook to issue NSSA with an initial $69m worth of Treasury Bills by end of May 2016 to extinguish the debt balance.
Local authorities such as Chitungwiza, Harare, Harare Water and Sanitation, ZBC and Zinwa, however, agreed on a payment plan.
