Assessment-Based Review of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security in Mozambique
In the last decade Mozambique has made significant progress in the extension of basic social security coverage through the establishment of a legal framework for basic social protection and the implementation of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security. Following the approval of the Law on Social Protection of 2007, which defines social protection as a right for all citizens, the Government of Mozambique approved the Regulation of the Basic Social Security Sub-system--85/2009. In order to achieve the objectives outlined in the Regulation, the Council of Ministers adopted a multi-sectoral National Strategy for Basic Social Security 2010-2014 (ENSSB), which established the principles, key actions, implementation tools, and targets, for the implementation of basic social protection between 2010 and 2014.
The ENSSB was a milestone and created the foundation for the development of an expansion plan, the redefinition of the basic social security programs, and the comprehensive review of the administrative and management instruments for basic social security. These advances in the legal and operational framework facilitated significant increases in budget allocations to basic social protection programs, which enabled:
- the expansion of the number of beneficiary households and the level of benefits, from 160,000 beneficiary households in 2009 to almost 450,000 households by 2014.
- An increase in the value of social transfers in the Basic Social Subsidy Program, from 70 Mts per households in 2008, to between 280 Mts for a single-person household and 580 Mts for households with up to four dependents.
- Further increases in budget allocations for the National Institute for Social Action (INAS) Programs from approximately 0.21% of GDP in 2010 to 0.51% of GDP in 2014.
The current ENSSB came to an end in 2014. At the request of the Government of Mozambique, the ILO launched an Assessment Based National Dialogue (ABND) process for the evaluation and revision of the ENSSB.
- Key phases of the ABND
- Participatory process of national dialogue
- Development of a SPF in Mozambiquee
The ABDN for the evaluation and revision of the ENSSB is composed of seven phases:
- Phase 0: Pre-Evaluation (January 2014-June 2014)
- Phase 1: Evaluation of the ENSSB (July 2014-November 2014)
- Phase 2: Definition of costed policy options (December 2014-January 2015)
- Phase 3: Elaboration of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security 2015-2019 (February 2015-April 2015)
- Phase 4: The development and of a costed operational plan for the ENSSB 2015-2019 (May 2015)
- Phase 5: Advocacy for the approval of the ENSSB 2015-2019 (June 2015-August 2015)
- Phase 6: Dissemination of the ENSSB 2015-2019 (September 2015-December 2015)
The Assessment-Based National Dialogue process (ABDN) for the evaluation and revision of the ENSSB in Mozambique is a participatory process, led by Government of Mozambique through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action (MGCAS) and the National Institute for Social Action (INAS), with financial and technical support from the ILO. A technical working group composed of the the advisor to the Minister of MGCAS, the Director of Social Action, the Director of INAS, the Deputy Director for Planning and the ILO overseeing the process.
The technical working group works in close collaboration with the PARP Social Protection Working Group. Chaired by the Director of Social Action, this group includes the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, DFID, ILO, UNICEF, WFP, the World Bank, HelpAge International, Handicap International, the Civil Society Platform for Social Protection, Irish Aid, and the Embassy of Sweden. The use of an existing internal governance structure developed over nearly a decade of national dialogue processes (link to capitalizing document) for the development of a social protection floor has proven effective in ensuring a participatory process that draws on the comparative strengths of stakeholders.
In order to guarantee a participatory and transformative national dialogue process, the ILO enlisted the expertise of IPK to support the process design. At the heart of the design approach is the concept that processes of transformation follow three phases: divergence, emergence and convergence. Divergence, often embedded in a structural tension or discomfort, opens up the space of possibility; emergence is a central turning point where something new emerges; while convergence is the final movement where participants close in on the options that are conducive, practicable and doable. Because the language barrier, IPK trained Mozambican facilitators, thereby strengthening the national capacity.
The Coordinating Council for the Basic Social Security Subsystem, chaired by the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Action, is ultimately responsible validating the new ENSSB 2015-2019 and submitting it to the Council of Ministers for approval. Therefore, throughout the national dialogue process, the technical working group has engaged with this body, in addition to the Technical and Consultative Council of MGCAS.
Stage 1 (2005- 2010) : Establishment of a Legal Framework for Social Protection and Policy Design
- 2005 : Low social protection coverage, programme fragmentation and lack of policy instruments for basic social protection.
- 2006 : Livingstone Conference and the inclusion of the social protection indicator in the Government of Mozambique’s (GoM) PAF.
- 2007 : Approval of the Law on Social Protection, which defines social protection as a right for all citizens and One UN Joint programme support to the sector
- 2008 : Mozambique signs the Social Policy Framework for Africa and financial support to INAS
- 2009 : Approval of the Regulation for the Basic Social Protection Subsystem, and of the Regulation for the Coordination of the Mandatory Social Security System. Design of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security commences.
- 2010 : Approval of the National Strategy for Basic Social Protection 2010-2014 (ENSSB), which establishes the principles, key actions, implementation tools, and targets, for the implementation of basic social protection between 2010 and 2014.
Stage 2 (2010-2015) : Implementation of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security in order to expand the coverage of eligible households in an effective, efficient and transparent way.
- 2011 : Creation and approval of the new programmes within ENSSB's implementation framework.
- 2012 : Development of the operating system for the new basic social security programmes.
- 2013 : Increased budget allocations, expansion of INAS programmes and the creation of the technical secretariat for the Coordinating Council of the Basic Social Security Subsystem (CCSSSB).
- 2014 : Evaluation of the ENSSB, the development of and Management and Information System (MIS) and a Single Registry.
- 2015 : Revision of ENSSB, the rollout of the MIS and the reregistration of current beneficiaries.