EAC PENSION SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

The inaugural regional Pension Supervisors Authorities meeting was held 28 to 30 July, 2014 in Arusha Tanzania. The aim of the meeting was to plan and facilitate activities to be progressed in the pension sector in order to promote regional integration of the pension sector.

The meeting, which was attended by Burundi’s Permanent Executive Secretariat of the National Commission for Social Protection (SEP/CNPS), Kenya’s Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), National Bank of Rwanda (NBR); Tanzania’s Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA); and Uganda’s Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA); witnessed the signing of the East African Pension Supervisory Association (EAPSA) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU recognizes comprehensive system of cooperation among the East African Partner States. It is expected that EAPSA will increase efficiency and facilitate cross border channels of communication relating to pension supervision which is essential for boosting intra-regional development in this sub-sector.

At the inaugural meeting, Dr. Enos Bukuku, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure underscored the role played by the financial sector development and regionalization project in the overall EAC integration agenda; and that of the Capital Market, Pension and Insurance Sectors in particular.


He stated that the path for integration of the financial Sector was clearly defined with the signing and coming into force of the EAC Common Market Protocol (2010), as well as the EAC Monetary Union Protocol (2013).

The Deputy Secretary General urged the Pension Supervisors’ Forum to facilitate the Pension Sector’s development agenda and move towards providing its services without hindering the mobility of citizens across Partner States. He emphasized that signing the Pensions Supervisory Authorities Memorandum of Understanding was a huge step in the right direction to progress regional integration of the Pensions Sub-Sector and also allow for continuous engagement with policy makers in the Partner States.

Speaking at the same Forum, Dr. Edward Odundo, Chief Executive Officer of the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) Kenya, and Chairperson of the meeting commended the efforts the EAC had put in to bring together the regional Pension Supervisors to deliberate on matters pertaining to the Pension Sector and was committed to support the initiatives of the Financial Sector Development and Regionalization Project 1 (FSDRPI).

The meeting, among others, considered the regional pension cross-border investment, different pension tax regimes in the region, and possible options for enhancing pension coverage to the informal sector in each Partner State.