An evaluation of the consolidated national social security bill for Lesotho : part II

• Pages: 113-151
• Record Number: lesotho_v25_n2_a4
• Author: K. E. Mosito
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC-ea18b506e
• Date: 31 May 2017
• Published date: 31 May 2017

AN EVAL UATION O F THE CONSOLI DATED N ATIONA L

SOCIAL S ECURITY BILL FOR LESOTH O: PART II

Mosito, K. E.*

Abstract

This article critically evalu ates the s ocial policy issues

underlying the Consolidated National Social Security Bill

for Lesotho. It also makes some fur ther recom mendations on

the Bill. Various principles informing an effe ctive social

security scheme are also considered within the context of

the proposed Bill.

INTROD UCTION

Lesotho has been str uggling to produce a c onsolidated piece of

legislation on nati onal social security from the year 2000 to date.

Although a Bill was pro duced, it never ulti mately meta morphosed

into an Act of Parliament. In a previous contributi on

1

concerning

the Bill, the present aut hor undertook an evaluation of the Bill from

its technical a nd structural aspects o nly. The aim of the pres ent

article is to evaluate the Bill fr om so cial policy perspectives. This

will be achieved by assessi ng the various social policy issu es arising

out of the Bill. By way of conclusion, the article will conclude by

highlighting the salient issues discussed.

*Dip (La w); BA (Law ); LL.B; PG D in Labo ur Law (Concili ation &

Arbitratio n) (NUL); LL.M (E din); PhD (UCT); Associate Professor of Law,

Dean of t he Faculty of La w, NUL.

1

K.E. Mosito, 2016 “An E valuation of the Consolidat ed National Social

Security Bill for Lesotho: Pa rt I” Journal of Law Society and Deve lopment Vol

3, No. 1 at 45-66.

114 LL J Vol. 25 No. 2

SOCIAL P OLICY IS SUES

Social security principles

Social security schemes can take various forms. They ca n be

voluntary or c ompulsory, state-run or privatel y managed, i ncome-

related or non-i ncome-related.

2

The Bill introduc es a compulsory

scheme.

3

The only time voluntari ness is permitted under t he Bill is

when an employ ee contribut es compulsorily t o the scheme against

old-age, disability and death for at least t hree years a nd t hereafter

no longer possesses the conditions for coverage under the Bill for

any reason.

4

In such a cas e, the employee is e ntitled to ele ct to

continue voluntarily within the scheme. He or she must

nevertheless apply for the voluntary insurance within six months

following th e date of non-coverage.

5

When the concept of social insurance schemes was introduced in

Europe, it was ori ented to wards protecting workers in formal

employment. This is clearly illustrated in t he Bismarkian model of

social securit y, which emphasises the protectio n of work ers in or der

to enhance productivity in the w orkplace .

6

Earlier on, s ocial security

was defined as “the protection of standards which the worker has

2

W. Sche mahl, “ Fundamental Decision s f or the Reform of Pensio n

Systems”, (1999) Interna tional Social Sec urity Review, Vol. 52, No.3 at p. 48.

3

Clause 3 (1) of the Bill.

4

Clause 103 (1) of the Bill.

5

Clause 103 (1) of the Bill.

6

E. Kaseke, “Soc ial Protection in SAD C: De veloping an Integra ted and

Inclusive Framework – A Social Pol icy Perspectiv e”, in M.P. Olivier & E. R.

Kalula (ed s), Social Pr otection in SAD C: Developing an I ntegrated and

Inclusive Framewor k, Joha nnesburg, C entre for Inter national and

Comparati ve Labo ur and Social S ecurity La w (CICL ASS), RAU and Cape

Town, Institute o f Developm ent and L abour Law, Univer sity of Cap e

Town (20 04) at p. 1.

115

secured for himsel f and his family in his e mployme nt.”

7

Typi cally,

social insurance schemes freque ntly do not cover categories such as

homework ers, domestic workers and part-time workers, in which

women are heavily represented.

8

In p ractical terms, this means that

these categori es are left to be protected b y t he tra ditional modes of

social prot ection, that is, largely family a nd community supp ort

systems, w hich still cover wi de sections of the country’s populatio n.

The actual application of the branches of social insurance against

old-age, disability, death, empl oyment injuries, and maternity are to

be int roduced in stages in accordance with the conditions and

circumstances to be determined by t he Minister.

9

The Bill is based

upon theories of income-related social insurance, which caters for

living for longer than average, or becoming disabled (the so- called

“biometric risks”

10

) coverage.

Contribution s towards poverty reduction

Lesotho is o ne of the poorest nations of the world. One important

aspect of statutory systems is whether t he aim is to prevent poverty

in ol d-age (minimum i ncome) or to link the person’s i ncome to his

or her f ormer income (income- related insurance scheme).

11

Where

the former, there are theoretically t hree strate gies, na mely provision

of universal ben efits, means -tested benefits, as well as minimum

pensions financed from contributions.

12

It seems that the principal

7

J. Walley, Social Se curity: Another Britis h Failure? (Lond on, Knight and

Compan y, London,(197 2) at p. 9.

8

Internatio nal Labo ur Organisa tion, (2001)“ Social Se curity: Is sues,

Challenge s and Prospect s” Inte rnational Labour Conference Geneva 89th

Session 20 01, Report VI, at p. 40.

9

Clause 3 of the Bill.

10

W. Sche mahl (1999), Lo c. cit. at p. 49.

11

Ibid.

12

Ibid.