Angola’s Mandatory Social Protection System has surpassed 3.4 million enrolled workers, the Secretary of State for Labour and Social Security, Pedro José Filipe, said on Thursday at the reopening of the National Social Security Institute’s (INSS) municipal offices in Negage, Uíge province.
Filipe said the government aims to achieve coverage of at least 25 percent of the economically active population by the end of the year, underscoring the administration’s drive to extend formal social protection to a greater share of the workforce.
Angola’s Mandatory Social Protection System is a public social security model administered by the INSS that shields citizens against the loss or reduction of income, covering contingencies such as old age, disability and unemployment.
Speaking on the sidelines of the reopening ceremony, Filipe explained that expanding the INSS service network is one of the central measures designed to increase the institution’s capacity, particularly given that the number of municipalities in Angola has grown from 164 to 325.
He added that rehabilitation works and the construction of new INSS facilities are under way across several provinces, with the goal of improving service conditions for citizens throughout the country.
Services offered at the municipal offices include worker registrations, proof-of-life procedures, information requests and the issuance of official declarations.
‘Our overriding purpose is to ensure that the population that turns to our services every day can be attended with dignity and under conditions that meet the demands that the Social Protection System itself requires,’ Filipe said.
The minister also highlighted the need to guarantee adequate and attentive service to elderly citizens, who make up a significant share of INSS beneficiaries.
On the question of extending services to additional localities, Filipe said the rollout would proceed gradually, depending on existing conditions and local demand at each site.
‘We will not do this overnight. What matters is that we have a firm purpose and a structured programme,’ he said, announcing further inauguration ceremonies before the end of the year.
The Secretary of State also disclosed that the INSS is advancing a digitalisation drive covering workers’ records, involving the migration of physical files and data into electronic systems.
The initiative is intended to make case processing more efficient, faster and more accurate, reducing administrative backlogs that have historically slowed benefit payments and registration services.
The reopening ceremony was attended by members of the Uíge Provincial Government, pensioners, traditional and religious authorities, and members of the defence and security forces.
Source: ANGOP / Original article: https://www.angop.ao/noticias/economia/mais-de-3-4-milhoes-de-trabalhadores-inscritos-no-sistema-de-proteccao-social/
