Weak social protection coverage hits workers
The latest Malawi Labour Market Profile has found that weak social protection coverage continues to hit most workers despite a growing recognition of the role of social protection to reduce poverty and inequality.
The 2022/23 Malawi Labour Market Profile compiled by Malawi Congress of Trade Unions and the Danish Trade Union Development Agency shows that although Malawi’s social protection programmes reflect relatively high penetration rate compared to the neighbouring countries, the programme have mainly benefitted the non-poor groups.
Reads the report in part: “For example, 21 percent of the population was covered by at least one social protection benefit in 2020, less than Zambia at 25 percent but higher than Mozambique at 13 percent and Tanzania at 14 percent.
“Malawi’s social safety net programmes coverage reached 41 percent of the population with a gap between the poorest and richest quintiles, 50 percent and 26 percent, respectively.”
The report further shows that just 2.3 percent of older persons receive a pension, only 11 percent are covered by health insurance, 6.9 percent of employees are covered in the event of work injury, 9.8 percent of children/households receive child/family cash benefits, 22 percent of the poor persons are covered by social protection systems and 20 percent of the vulnerable persons are covered by social assistance.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Minister of Labour Vera Kamtukule said social protection is a labour issue, but said the ministry is advocating for integrated universal social protection.
She said: “What happens when a small-scale business is struggling due to, say, Covid-19 restrictions? Shouldn’t those also qualify for social protection?”
Kamtukule said social protection has the potential to curb issues of child labour and stop inter-generational transfer of poverty.
Employers Consultative Association of Malawi executive director George Khaki in an interview yesterday said the country’s social protection coverage is weak because it is not mandatory and that government has limited fiscal muscle.
He said: “It is government that is expected to provide social protection. But because of inadequate resources, government is not able to provide social protection to all vulnerable persons.”
The report further said the expansion of social cash transfer programme since 2006 has provided a lifeline for older people.
But a 50-year-old Blantyre-based domestic worker Magret Lemani, who has worked for about 15 years in different homes within the city, wished there was some social protection for domestic workers too.
“But after working for a while I am given once-off payments, which only take me a shortwhile to finish as I have to use the same for pressing household needs in the village,” she said.
The Malawi Government is banking on the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Programme Strategic Plan that runs from 2022 to 2027 to increase overall funding and ownership of social protection programmes.
