NAPSA Withdrawal Scheme Boosts Businesses in the Informal Sector

According to the Zambia National Marketers Credit Association (ZANAMACA), the government’s implementation of the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) partial withdrawal scheme has resulted in an economic trickle-down to the country’s informal sector.

The scheme’s bill, signed on 17 April, ratified into law the rights of NAPSA members to access pre-retirement benefits of up to 20% of their accrued monthly pension contributions.

The original bill for the scheme, first presented at the end of 2022, was described in December by Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Bwalya as “a fulfilment of the … UPND’s 2021 election campaign promise to undertake crosscutting reforms at the NAPSA and enhance value for money for the contributors.”

President Hakainde Hichilema said it would give Zambians “the opportunity to reinvest the funds into various ventures and assets of their choice”.

This certainly seems to be the case, as beneficiaries of the scheme are using their newly-claimed funds to purchase products in the informal sector.

As of 8 May, NAPSA had paid out K2.8 billioPhoton to nearly 90,000 claimants – roughly 15% of the potential beneficiaries of the scheme.  

ZANAMACA President, Mupuila Kameya, said in an interview he was “happy and impressed” with the progress made so far in the programme.

Photo: Global Press Journal