Consultative Meeting Report with the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) on Social Protection

The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PAS GR) under Utafiti Sera, the Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development (INCLUDE), and the  Ministry of East African Community, Labour and Social Protection (MEACL&SP) Kenya, held a consultative meeting with the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) on the draft national social protection coordination bill. This is a follow up to series of activities, Utafiti Sera forums as well as the first Social Protection Conference that articulated 12 strategic issue areas having a central objective of seeking ways in which the three key areas of Social Security, Social Assistance and Health Insurance can be effectively integrated and strengthened through the national social protection coordination bill. The forum took place in Nairobi.

Social protection interventions are provided by many different stakeholders including Government ministries, the private sector, communities, households, and other Non-State Actors(NSA’s). These sectors often operate in isolation thus the potential impact of the initiative.

The report attached highlights the key aspects of the consultative meeting with SCAC on the proposed national social protection bill that took place on 21^st November, 2016. The meeting brought together 19 selected policy stakeholders with the aim of providing a way forward for the proposed bill. The meeting helped an understanding of the option of proposing the establishment of a State Corporation for social protection and highlighted the key issues. It came out strongly that there was the rationale for the bill to have a state corporation, but it did not resonate with its objects, because the state corporate proposed in the bill wants to be many things at the same time – a policy coordinator, service provider, a regulator and also manage funds. Participants agreed there was a need to revisit the objects of the bill and decide whether to have a narrow focus or seek other ways to remain broad and still meet the goal.

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