NSSA’s endless scandals are a betrayal of Zimbabwe’s elderly

The latest revelations about the lavish perks proposed for National Social Security Authority (NSSA) executives is nothing short of a moral outrage.

This is especially so in a country where retirees are scraping together a meagre existence on average monthly pensions of just US$50—and in some cases, even less—

This is not just a matter of bad governance; it is a cruel betrayal of the very people the institution was created to protect.

NSSA was never meant to be a cash cow for its executives.

It was designed to safeguard the dignity and livelihood of Zimbabwe’s elderly and injured workers—men and women who had a portion of their salaries forcibly deducted over decades, in the hope that they would retire with some sense of security and respect.

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Instead, what we are witnessing is a grotesque inversion of that promise.

According to a recent report in The Sunday Mail, government, through the Corporate Governance Unit (CGU) in the Office of the President and Cabinet, had to intervene after NSSA’s board proposed extravagant perks for Dr Charles Shava, the acting general manager tipped for the substantive post.

The package, among other benefits, included a proposed basic salary of US$15,730—40 percent in USD—with a performance bonus of US$47,280 annually, or US$3,940 monthly.

That’s not all.

The board also wanted to throw in a 10 percent monthly representation allowance (US$1,730), 100 percent school fees coverage for up to three children benchmarked at expensive institutions like Prince Edward School and Africa University, a house in a Harare low-density suburb, 24-hour private security, a DStv premium bouquet, two domestic workers, luxury holidays with business class flights for the general manager and spouse and economy tickets for up to four children, plus a US$3,000 per person holiday allowance.

Even more ludicrous were proposals for vehicle loans up to the value of his annual salary and full coverage for personal development expenses.

The CGU rejected the bulk of these proposals, rightly citing the new public sector remuneration framework and the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act, which limits total compensation to 30–70 percent of an entity’s revenue or operational budget.

The fact that NSSA’s board even dared to propose such a package in the current economic climate is a damning indictment of how detached its leadership is from the reality most Zimbabweans face.

It is an insult to those elderly citizens struggling to survive on paltry pensions that don’t even cover their basic monthly groceries, let alone rent, electricity, or medical expenses.

Let’s put this in context.

A loaf of bread in Zimbabwe now costs US$1. Basic monthly electricity consumption for an average household requires about US$20.

Healthcare, especially in public institutions where patients must often pay for medication, tests, surgery, and even gloves out-of-pocket, is increasingly unaffordable.

How does NSSA expect anyone to survive on US$50 a month, especially those who are now elderly, vulnerable, and largely unable to fend for themselves?

This is not about people demanding handouts.

These pensioners earned their dues.

NSSA is not a welfare institution—it is a compulsory social insurance scheme.

Zimbabwean workers had no choice but to contribute a portion of their earnings to NSSA, with the government promising them that these funds would secure their future.

What we are now seeing is not the fulfillment of that promise, but its calculated betrayal.

This scandal is not an isolated occurrence.

NSSA has a long and well-documented history of corruption, maladministration, and political interference.

One of the most high-profile scandals involved former Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira, who was arrested in 2019 by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) over allegations of abusing over US$95 million from NSSA during her tenure.

She was accused of using NSSA funds for personal enrichment and to finance political activities.

Other NSSA officials have also been implicated in shady investments, dubious property deals, and irregular financial practices.

This pattern reveals a culture of impunity, entitlement, and gross disregard for the mission of the authority.

So the excuse that NSSA lacks the funds to increase pensions to a livable level simply does not hold water.

If it has the money to offer its top managers tens of thousands of dollars in monthly perks, including luxury holidays and private security, it can certainly afford to increase payouts to the very people whose contributions built this fund in the first place.

The real issue here is mismanagement and greed.

It is high time that the government goes beyond just raising red flags.

Zimbabweans are tired of performative outrage. What we demand is real action.

Those responsible for looting NSSA must be brought to book.

There must be full transparency in how executive remuneration is set and clear statutory caps placed on salaries, bonuses, and benefits in state entities like NSSA.

We cannot continue to allow a few individuals to enrich themselves at the expense of millions of suffering Zimbabweans.

More importantly, there must be a radical reorientation of NSSA’s priorities.

The beneficiaries of the scheme—the elderly and the injured—must come first.

No NSSA executive should earn more than ten times what the average pensioner receives.

In fact, the average NSSA pension should be no less than US$200 per month, to ensure that retirees can live with basic dignity, buy food and clothing, pay for utilities, and afford decent healthcare.

Anything less is simply not acceptable in a country that claims to respect its citizens.

Those who currently lead NSSA must ask themselves how they sleep at night.

How can one, with any conscience, accept a five-figure salary while knowing that the elderly people who depend on their leadership are going to bed hungry, cold, and sick?

How can one justify driving a luxury vehicle paid for by the same fund that gives widows and retirees the equivalent of a grocery voucher?

This is not just a governance crisis. It is a moral one.

And the time for silence is over.

Our parents, the very people who built this nation through decades of hard work, deserve better.

They may no longer have the strength to stand up and speak out—but we, their children, do.

If NSSA’s leaders have no shame, then we must shame them into doing the right thing.

If they won’t do the right thing willingly, then they must be compelled by law, by activism, and by public pressure.

The rot at NSSA must end now—not tomorrow, not next year, now.

Let the looters and profiteers be exposed and held to account.

Let the money go where it belongs: in the hands of the very people who earned it.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/