Workers’ Member of Parliament Dr. Sam Lyomoki will spend nights sleeping within the parliament chambers protesting the delay to pass the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Bill.
The legislator has carried a mattress, mosquito net, and made himself ‘comfortable’ inside the chambers, vowing he will call the place home until the Bill is passed.
Lyomoki is concerned that the Bill has not been prioritized and only appears at the end of the parliament program.
He claims that certain ‘Mafias” are interested in incapacitating the process of passing the Bill.
“There are ‘ Mafias’ and ‘economic hitmen’ who are working hard to sabotage the processing of the Bill to the detriment of Workers,” he said.
This is the second night that the Workers MP is spending in Parliament Chambers since he started his campaign on 27th August 2020.
In January last year, Lyomoki and a section of legislators started a process for the amendment of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act of 1985 to allow workers’ access their savings before the age of 50.
Lyomoki argued that members should be allowed to withdraw their savings before they exceed the age of 45 to allow them to plan better.
He also wanted the Bill to be expanded to cater for privileges pertaining to medical and bereavement as and when required by an individual.
The Bill once amended would also ensure that people can receive the money within the period of saving so that they can invest in fundamental lifetime projects.
However, time and again, Lyomoki’s efforts have been frustrated by different forces.
For instance, last year after he (Lyomoki) was given leave to prepare for the tabling of the Bill, he was called back and stopped citing that the government had moved similar amendments.
Early this year, a report from the committees under which Bill’s jurisdiction falls continued to deliberately dillydally causing speaker Kadaga to adjourn sittings time and again.
The continued absence of the Minister of Finance for over a month whenever the Bill was on order paper also raised eyebrows for Lyomoki.
It should be noted that the Bill has been on the floor for a year now.
