By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
In a week’s time, the Social Security Commission (SSC) will resume printing and distributing social security cards to its members.
According to the SSC Corporate Affairs Officer, Rino Muranda, the design of the cards has been enhanced and several features have been added for easier administration and distribution of these cards.
“The new social security cards will therefore indicate the full name, instead of the initial and surname, as was the case previously. It will also indicate the date of birth or identification number of the member, the social security number as well as the date on which the card is printed,” he explained in a recent press statement.
Due to the overwhelming demand and backlog to print outstanding cards, the printing of social security cards will be carried out in phases.
The first phase which starts on October 22, 2007 will be focussed on bulk printing and distribution of cards to employers.
“All active employers who registered and requested cards from August 2004 until 28 September 2007 will be covered during phase one of the card printing process”.
The SSC cards will be printed in bulk and dispatched via mail and other delivery modes to the relevant employers.
However, it is stated that employers who prefer to collect their cards from SSC offices themselves for distribution to their employees should contact the nearest SSC office to arrange for such a collection.
Phase two of the project will concentrate on returned cards.
The latest development with regard to the SSC cards comes against the background where the company stopped the printing and distribution of these cards in August 2004.
Among the many reasons why the printing of cards was stopped is because there was a marked increase in the number of returned cards.
The Commission, therefore, resolved at the time to discontinue further printing of the SSC cards and to review the design of the cards.
To ensure that the resumption of the printing process goes smoothly and the cards reaches the rightful owners, the SSC has embarked upon a rigorous process of forwarding letters and lists of names of employees to all targeted employers during September 2007.
An appeal is therefore being made to all employers who receive such lists to verify the lists for accuracy of details of employees and to confirm whether the employees are still in their employ.