Masabo, Juliana --- "Informality and social insurance in East Africa: an assessment of the law and practice" [2019] ELECD 1080; in Westerveld, Mies; Olivier, Marius (eds), "Social Security Outside the Realm of the Employment Contract" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 177

Book Title: Social Security Outside the Realm of the Employment Contract

Editor(s): Westerveld, Mies; Olivier, Marius

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: Informality and social insurance in East Africa: an assessment of the law and practice

Author(s): Masabo, Juliana

Number of pages: 24

Abstract/Description:

Informal employment is pervasive in East Africa. In some of the countries the size of informal employment is as higher as 80 to 90 per cent of all employment. The majority of these are not insured as they were until recently totally excluded from the scope of social insurance due to the inherent bias of the traditional social insurance system towards formal employees. This chapter takes stock of and examines the reforms currently undertaken to extend social insurance to informal employees. Based on the reforms undertaken in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, it is argued that the re-orientation of the national social insurance regimes to extend the scope of coverage to informal workers are commendable but they do not necessarily boost enrolment. For these reforms to yield the intended results it is recommended that concrete measures should be undertaken to address the practical barriers.