The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is providing technical support to Angola’s National Social Security Institute (INSS), with studies on the financial sustainability of implementing unemployment benefits.
Angola does not yet have unemployment benefit, but this protection is provided for in the Basic Law on Social Protection, said Samuel Mulaza, the INSS administrator for Social Security and Inspection, who took part in a round table on Social Protection in Angola – Paths to Universal Coverage, organised by the ILO.
Samuel Mulaza said that the implementation of unemployment benefit depends on various issues, namely the carrying out of studies, and assured that “it is not something that has been forgotten and will be dealt with in due course”.
“Things have to be done gradually and in a sustainable way, because otherwise we end up jeopardising the very sustainability of the system, we have to do it with due caution, it will be done when the time is right,” he said.
For her part, ILO project manager Denise Monteiro pointed out that “the INSS is already talking about this” and has the technical support of this UN organisation.
“So I think that very soon we’ll have an open debate here about how it can be done, how unemployment benefit can be implemented in Angola,” she said.
Denise Monteiro stressed that implementing unemployment benefits in Angola, as in any country, is important, emphasising that this is the most difficult benefit to put into practice and, therefore, has the least coverage regarding numbers when looking at the world situation.
She considered that because it is a very expensive benefit in terms of costs (…), in all likelihood, to implement an unemployment benefit, you would have to change the contribution rates”, emphasising that “people often don’t see that”.
Denise Monteiro recalled that contribution rates in countries with very high coverage are 20% to 30%, different from those in Angola.
“Often this rate change is also sensitive, so much caution is needed,” she warned.
Lusa
