The Legal and Board Affairs Department is an approved Law Chamber that operates on private legal practice norms. The highly motivated and innovative team drives service excellence, by embracing best practice in trial advocacy and promoting the core principles of corporate governance.

We pro-actively manage the Fund’s legal risk by providing relevant and practical solutions to facilitate business development. We also provide transactional advice to the Fund and its stakeholders.

In addition, we are responsible for coordinating, managing, and supporting the Board of Directors in exercising their mandate to provide strategic oversight and guidance to the Fund.

The year ending 30 June 2021 was greatly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We realised a decline in enforcement of employers’ compliance to their contributions remittance obligations due to closure of different key sectors. In ensuring that the Fund upholds its mandate to its members, we adopted alternative dispute resolution which culminated in the renegotiation and restructuring of employer obligations that not only guaranteed the members’ interest but also ensured business continuity for the affected employers.

Considering the unprecedented effects of the pandemic, we rendered support to the Fund in the establishment of a legally acceptable structure of payment of the Invalidity Benefit to our members in need of critical medical care from the effects of Covid-19. The novel intervention has undoubtedly provided social protection at the point of need and ensured that the Fund remains relevant and continues to make lives better for its membership.

Part of our services to the Fund, is the representation of the Fund in Courts of Judicature. In the year ended 2020/2021, we successfully defended a tax case which had significant ramifications on the tax treatment of interest paid to members by Retirement Benefits Schemes in Uganda. In the same vein, we continue to vigorously defend the Fund’s possession and proprietary interest in its prime land despite the numerous attempts of physical encroachment and alteration of the Land register. This has ensured a preservation of the Fund’s assets and member value. We also witnessed the withdrawal of the Constitutional Petition filed by the Agency for Transformation against the Fund that was intended to affect the Fund’s operational and governance structure.

During the year ended 30 June 2020, we continued to provide legal support in the process of amendment of the NSSF Act, through engagement with the Legislative arm of Government, policy makers and various stakeholders in the retirement benefits sector.

As the liaison between the Fund and the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority, we supported the Regulator in the conduct of an audit of the Fund which affirmed the satisfactory compliance of the Fund.

We have continued to increase awareness to the right to social protection and justice working closely with our strategic partners who include the Uganda Law Society, the Legal Aid Providers Network (LAPSNET), Judicial Training Institute, Uganda Judicial Officers Association, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Uganda Police Force, among others. We also continue to sensitise both our internal and external stakeholders on emerging practices in the law, jurisprudence, and any changes in the regulatory environment. These sensitisations are also supported by key technical partners including the Public Procurement and Disposal Assets Act (PPDA), National Information Technology Authority (NITA), among others.