Leave a comment and share
Chuks Udo Okonta
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has issued certificate of compliance to 1295 employers to bid federal government’s contracts having contributed and remitted their employees’ pension contributions in 2021.
PenCom in a document entitled: ‘Schedule of Employers Issued with Certificate of Compliance with Provisions of the PRA 2014 as at January 18, 2022’, noted that firms such as Union Bank Plc, remitted N18.69 billion for 2200 employees, while Zenith Bank Plc, remitted N1.26 billion for 6785 employees.
According to the pension sector regulator, Setraco Nigeria Limited, paid N500.22 million for 3333 employees; Jaiz Bank Plc, paid N461.89 million for 735 employees; Bua Foods Plc, paid N289.28 million for 757 employees; Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, paid N240.53 million for 130 employees and Trobell International Nigeria Limited, paid N56.95 million for 74 employees.
Others are; Sowsco Well Services Nigeria Limited, N40.95 million for 52 employees; Premium Times Services Limited, N22.09 million for 57 employees; Jaiz Takaful Insurance Plc, N15.24 million for 39 employees and Datum Construction Nigeria Limited, N9.23 million for 84 employees.
PenCom had in the past made an appeal to Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to support the initiative of issuing certificate of compliance to deserving firms, adding that MDAs often times accept spurious evidence of compliance from contractors and being reluctant in ensuring that companies bidding for works fulfilled their obligations relating to pensions as enunciated in the Public Procurement Act 2007.
PenCom noted that with effect from January 2012, private sector employers that complied with the provisions of the PRA 2014 were issued annual Certificates of Compliance, and that to be issued with the certificate, employers are required to submit evidence of remitting contributions to the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) of their employees as well as show evidence of valid group life insurance policy.
“All MDAs are required to demand for the Compliance Certificate as a requirement for transacting any business with a private sector organisations. Appropriate circulars have been issued to all MDAs in that regard.
“The main reason for the low number of requests being the reluctance of MDAs to ensure that companies bidding for works have fulfilled their obligations relating to pensions as enunciated in the Public Procurement Act 2007,” it said.
PenCom posited that methods deployed by MDAs to avoid complying include: the exclusion of the pension requirement in the advertisement for contractors and/or acceptance of spurious evidence of compliance from the contractors.
It said that in a bid to address the lapses, it had agreed with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) that only Certificates it issued would be the valid evidence of compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007.
Dear Esteemed Reader,
We solicit your donation as we work hard everyday to provide readers such as you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information.
Quality journalism costs money, hence, we’re asking that you support us to do more. Your N1,000, $1, £1 and more donations will help Inspenonline to sustain its desire to offer quality reportage to everyone in the world.
Donate into this account number:
Bank: United Bank for Africa (UBA)
Account Name: Inspenonline Limited
Account Number: 1021916451
Thanks as you send your donations.
