In 2020, Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) charted a new strategic plan for five years (2020-2025) that will see key internal changes in the organization since receiving its autonomy.

In an exclusive interview with The New Times’ Alice Kagina, RSSB Chief Executive Officer, Regis Rugemanshuro, talks about the organization's performance, new recruitments, and how these changes are going to impact members’ benefits and improve service delivery.

The excerpts:

According to the RSSB Strategic Plan 2025, the five years were transformational for the organization. Can you tell us why and how it is all going?

You are right. In 2020 we launched the new Strategic Plan 2020–2025 aimed to transform RSSB into a member-first, data-driven, high-performing modern organization.

In 2015, Community-based Health Insurance also known as Mutuelle de Sante was transferred to RSSB from the Ministry of Health, after that Maternity Leave Benefit Scheme was launched, and lastly Ejo Heza Long-Term Saving Scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance (Minecofin) was also transferred to RSSB in 2019.

All these schemes came with their own structure in terms of human capital, culture, process and procedures, and IT systems, leading to operational inefficiencies within the organization.

With the ongoing transformation, we are creating an organization with a harmonized structure, culture, process and procedures, and IT Systems that are fit for purpose to fulfill RSSB’s mandate and be a key contributor to the realization of Vision 2050 for the country.

How far with implementation?

A lot has been achieved today, starting with the institution’s autonomy under the supervision of MINECOFIN. We have started the organizational restructuring process with the first jobs already published, and the first candidates on-boarded. Major internal processes and procedures have been reviewed and refined appropriately.

In addition, we have already launched four digital systems, significantly improving members’ experience, organizational compliance, detection and prevention of fraud, as well as a drastic reduction of the invoices payment cycle. This can be seen with the onboarding of over 1,000 primary health facilities reducing from 90 days to 15 days payment cycle for those already using the Kwivuza platform.

While there is still more to be delivered, we are on track to meet the ambitious targets set by 2025.

What impact will the restructuring and recruitment of human capital have on the overall transformation and performance of RSSB?

The organizational restructuring for human capital is a very key component of this transformation. As you know any organization, especially those with the size and nature of RSSB can only prosper based on the strength of its people.

Equipped with the right tools and empowered by the right process and procedures, the staff in the new RSSB structure are expected to deliver the better performance that our members deserve and expect as stated in the published SP25.

What key positions are you looking to fill through this mass recruitment drive and what is the process? Are there any specific skill sets or expertise you are targeting?

Since we are moving from the old structure to the new one, all roles in the new structure are open. You might recall that while we had a Director General in the old structure, new roles, specifically CEO and Deputy CEO, that are Cabinet appointees as per the new law governing RSSB, and the new organizational structure had to be put in place.

In the same way, we have proceeded to fill the remaining ones according to the law and other legal instruments in place for RSSB.

This will follow a competitive process considering internal existing staff in the old structure as well as external candidates to make sure the best and brightest candidates are selected to serve our members.

This means that we are looking for all sorts of skills across the organization, from customer care, investment, actuaries, medical doctors, health economists, pharmacists, accountants, risk managers, auditors, administration and HR, project managers, software engineers, data analysts, lawyers, and the list goes on (the full list of open jobs can be found on our website.)

They should be driven, ambitious, creative minds with a team spirit ready for a good challenge.

You want the best and brightest to apply. But why should they want to work for RSSB? And what do you say to those who might have the wrong perception of the working environment at RSSB?

Yes, we want the best and brightest candidates from within the organization to stay and we would like to attract external candidates of equal or better caliber.

They should stay or join RSSB because the institution offers a unique opportunity to its employees to make a tangible impact on the well-being of all Rwandans, and to contribute in a direct and concrete way to the socio-economic development of the country and, by doing so, to participate in the realization of Vision 2050.

RSSB collaborates with public and governmental institutions, the private sector, and international partners to build the Rwanda our members (all Rwandans) want and deserve. Such exposure to nation-building provides incredible opportunities to learn and grow at a very fast pace.

In addition to constituting seasoned teams within the institution, we aim to build the most trained and skilled talent pool in the country in different disciplines through partnerships with training organizations, local and international universities, and renowned institutions like INSEAD.

Furthermore, RSSB has a large portfolio of companies where employees can be seconded for training, career growth, and promotion based on their performance.

One of the other major improvements is that the compensation structure was revised to ensure that it aligns with the market, and fairly compensates people for their work.

Finally, for those who might still have a different perception of what it is like to work at RSSB, we have heard comments such as working in a "pressure cooker”, or "sitting on a volcano”, I would say from personal experience, but also shared with my colleagues, that the level of fulfillment you get from even the smallest win for our members overshadows by far any of those perceptions.

Talking about impact, can you elaborate on how this is relevant to the current socio-economic situation?

RSSB manages six schemes, Pension, Occupational Hazard, CBHI (Mutuelle de Sante), RAMA, Maternity Leave Benefit, and lastly Ejo Heza Long-term saving scheme. All these schemes combined cover every Rwandan citizen and foreign residents in the country.

The fund’s assets under management are over Rwf2 trillion as of June 2023 (unaudited), about 15 percent of the Rwandan GDP. With this size, scale, and level of impact, the margin of error is very limited, and mistakes or delays to execute are very expensive. Therefore, we need the best and brightest in all positions to ensure the organization reaches and operates at an all-time optimal level of performance for our members.

The outcome should be well-designed member-centric schemes with appropriate contributions and benefits that match today’s cost of living, higher and consistent quality of service, and creation of better and high-performing investment opportunities in our local ecosystem that drive significant job creation and speeds up the formalization of the informal sector.

In addition, it should drive higher participation and compliance to different social security and healthcare schemes, growth of women-led SMEs, and a significant reduction in our carbon footprint.

What does RSSB’s current investment portfolio look like and what should be the expectation after the transformation?

As of June 2023, the total assets of RSSB are slightly more than Rwf2 trillion. Assets allocation is 60 percent fixed income, 30 percent equities, and 10 percent real estate.

We also have some big projects in the pipeline through our investee companies like Inyange milk powder plant, the upgrade of the Ruliba manufacturing plant, construction of a wood processing factory to produce high-quality made-in-Rwanda value-added wooden goods, among others.

We also have upcoming projects to build affordable homes, Vision City Phase 2, Kigali Green Complex which will be a landmark building in the city, and the completion of Kigali Golf Course’s five-star clubhouse. RSSB, together with QIA, invested in the Virunga Africa Fund 1, a $250 million Pan-African fund, as well as Katapult Africa Seed Fund – the first venture capital investment vehicle in Rwanda, that supports the growth of the technology sector and start-up ecosystem. Initiatives to support SMEs through a dedicated local fund is something that RSSB is also considering.

With this transformation completed, RSSB should be well equipped with the skills and tools required to efficiently manage its subsidiaries and enhance their performance.

Currently, RSSB is working with Amundi, a global asset management firm, to review and refine its investment strategy and policy so that it fits today’s market realities and maximizes opportunities.

What impact will the changes affect members’ contributions and benefits in social security and health insurance schemes you manage?

The transformation also includes a review of all the schemes managed by RSSB, followed by multiple reforms to make sure the structure of contributions and benefits in place are aligned with today’s realities. Our goal is to ensure the schemes grow in membership and provide the most benefits to all our members today without compromising their long-term sustainability.

However, for CBHI (Mutuelle de Sante) which covers 90.6 percent of the population without other insurance, as of June 2023, some of the reforms are already in place such as the new additional sources of funding approved in 2020 to improve the scheme’s funding ratio and the consistent increase of the benefit package for our members.

In this fiscal year, additional sources of funding are being discussed and a new list of covered diseases and benefits such as kidney transplants among others were added to the benefits package.

Lastly, our members and partners should expect a significant improvement in the quality of service across the board.

We are seeing fast-growing digital transformation across sectors of the economy. How does RSSB plan to leverage technology and innovation to streamline its operations and enhance service delivery?

Another key factor of the ongoing transformation is digital transformation. Our goal is to achieve zero trip-zero paper by 2025 with our internal process and services fully automated and available online.

We want to make it very easy and convenient for our members to access RSSB services and minimize the time and cost it takes for us to deliver different services by being an evidence-based, data-driven organization for improved and faster decision-making.

Any challenges so far?

All our new platforms are built in-house by our own team of product designers, analysts, engineers, and project managers. This proves that our market has grown and created capable talent to build state-of-the-art digital platforms.

However, the number of senior talents remains limited compared to the demand in the market. We have often opted to hire juniors and pair them with seniors for training. It’s a slow start given the learning curve, but the results are very encouraging.

Any parting words?

To the potential candidates, don’t miss out on a unique and fulfilling opportunity to contribute to the development of our country. If you are up to the challenge, visit our career page on our website and submit your application for one or more positions that match your profile and qualification. Best of luck!

I would like to thank all stakeholders from the government and all our partners for the relentless support they continue to provide to RSSB on this transformation journey to help us succeed for our members. Finally, I would also like to thank our members for their continued trust and support on this transformation journey to give them the high-quality service and benefits they want and deserve.