By Chesa Chesa
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Barr. Oluwaseun Faleye, has said that collaboration between the Fund and Rand Mutual Assurance of South Africa will help strengthen social protection systems across Africa.
Faleye stated this on Tuesday while hosting a high-level delegation from Rand Mutual Assurance, led by its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bilal Adam, at the NSITF headquarters in Abuja.
He described the meeting as the beginning of a strategic partnership between two of Africa’s leading social insurance institutions, united by a shared commitment to improving workers’ compensation, occupational safety, health, and social security administration across the continent.
According to Faleye, the visit marks the start of what is expected to become a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between both organizations.
“Your visit marks the beginning of what we hope will evolve into a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between our two organizations, and highlights our shared commitment to advancing workers’ compensation, occupational safety and health, and social security administration on the African continent,” he said.
Speaking on the history and achievements of Rand Mutual Assurance, Faleye noted that the institution, established in 1894, has built a strong reputation as one of Africa’s foremost workers’ compensation and social insurance organizations.
He commended the company’s transformation from a specialized compensation scheme serving the mining industry into a modern social insurer focused on prevention, rehabilitation, care, and shared value creation.
Faleye stressed that the future of social protection lies in collaboration, innovation, and the exchange of experiences, adding that the engagement goes beyond a courtesy visit.
“At NSITF, we recognize that the future of social protection lies in collaboration, innovation and the exchange of experiences. Consequently, we view this visit not merely as a courtesy engagement, but as the beginning of a strategic partnership capable of transforming workers’ compensation and occupational injury insurance administration across our respective jurisdictions,” he stated.
He noted that as two of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa have a responsibility to provide leadership and promote best practices capable of strengthening social protection systems throughout the continent.
Faleye said the engagement offers an opportunity for both institutions to compare experiences, identify shared interests, and explore innovative solutions to emerging workplace challenges.
He expressed optimism about collaboration in critical areas including digital transformation, claims administration, occupational health and safety, rehabilitation, return-to-work programmes, capacity building, research, and policy development.
Reaffirming NSITF’s commitment to strengthening the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS), Faleye described the scheme as a vital social protection mechanism designed to guarantee compensation, rehabilitation, and support for Nigerian workers who suffer workplace injuries, occupational diseases, disabilities, or death arising from their employment.
He explained that the changing nature of work and emerging occupational risks make it imperative for social insurance institutions to continuously improve their systems and adopt innovative approaches centered on workers’ welfare.
According to him, the ECS remains one of Nigeria’s most important social security interventions, providing medical care, rehabilitation services, compensation benefits, and support to employees and their dependants in cases of work-related injury, disability, or death.
Faleye emphasized that collaboration, knowledge sharing, and professional exchanges are essential to building stronger social protection systems and ensuring timely and adequate compensation for workers.
“These areas are essential to building a modern and responsive compensation system that protects workers while supporting employers and contributing to national productivity,” he said.
He added that NSITF remains focused on building resilient systems that promote workplace safety, reduce occupational injuries, and ensure injured workers are rehabilitated and reintegrated into productive employment.
The NSITF boss also noted that the Employees’ Compensation Scheme provides employers with a structured and sustainable framework for managing workplace liabilities.
Expressing confidence in the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both organizations, Faleye said its ratification and signing by the NSITF Management Board would usher in a new era of collaboration.
