The Director General of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), Mr. Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, has called on the Chinese Government to support Sierra Leone’s efforts to extend pension coverage to informal sector workers.

According to The Heroes Media Newspaper, Mr. Daboh made the appeal during a meeting with senior officials at the Chinese Embassy in Freetown. He met with Mr. Peng Wang, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor, who represented the Chinese Ambassador.

During the meeting, Mr. Daboh thanked China for its continued support to Sierra Leone, especially in areas such as education, energy, agriculture, healthcare, infrastructure, and diplomatic relations.

He used the meeting to share updates on NASSIT’s work and the progress made in preparing the new Informal Sector Pension Scheme. He explained that while NASSIT currently covers over 87% of formal sector workers, reaching those in the informal sector has been a challenge.

Since his appointment in 2018, Mr. Daboh said several steps have been taken to address this gap. These include working with the International Labour Organization (ILO), setting up steering and technical committees, and creating a dedicated Informal Sector Secretariat within NASSIT.

He also mentioned that a diagnostic study had been completed to understand the needs of informal workers. This was followed by a technical study that looked at what types of benefits could be offered and how much people might need to contribute. According to The Heroes Media Newspaper, a draft policy for the scheme has already been developed and reviewed by the ILO, the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security, and the Steering Committee.

Mr. Daboh explained that for the scheme to move forward, NASSIT now needs to engage with stakeholders across the country, finalize the national policy framework, and submit the draft policy to Cabinet for approval. This will then be followed by the required legislation and rollout of the scheme.

He asked for China’s support in key areas such as staff training, ICT infrastructure, and capacity development to help launch and manage the new system.

In his response, Mr. Peng Wang congratulated Mr. Daboh and his team for the work done so far and said China values its long-standing partnership with Sierra Leone, which began in the 1970s. He pointed to previous Chinese support in areas like infrastructure, agriculture, health, and financial assistance, including debt relief.

Mr. Wang said China is ready to support the proposed pension scheme and welcomed it as a step toward broader social protection.

The meeting ended with Mr. Daboh presenting the draft policy document and giving a full update on progress made so far.