OUTA welcomes withdrawal of social security green paper

OUTA is not surprised that Minster of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu has withdrawn the green paper on social security and retirement reform. We trust that in doing so, Minister Zulu has recognised her mistake of not consulting more widely and deeply when it comes to introducing such policies that have a significant impact on society and the economy as a whole.

The recent announcement and tabling of the green paper caused significant controversy, due to the wide-ranging and largely negative impacts that it would have on various areas. The green paper also ignored a Nedlac report on social security structure and, furthermore, did not go through the necessary Cabinet or National Treasury engagement processes.

“OUTA does recognise that, unfortunately, we have a low savings rate in South Africa, which leaves many people unable to survive with dignity in their retirement years. This in turn adds more pressure to the state’s ability to provide for citizens. Thus, while the state’s intention with this Social Security Fund appears to be noble – in that it will force people to save and assist with more relief in other situations of need – the reality is that there are far too many questions with this complex issue that require a lot of expert input across a number of sectors, especially as it involves a fund that will be managed by the state, whose track record in managing citizens’ funds and taxes is not very good,” says Wayne Duvenage, OUTA CEO.