Khaberni - Social insurance and protection expert Musa Al-Subaihi posed twenty questions to the board of directors of the Social Security Corporation, regarding the powers and duties of the general manager of the corporation.
Below are the questions as published by Al-Subaihi:
Twenty questions I address to the board of directors of the Social Security Corporation
I noticed that Article (12) of the Social Security Law, which discusses the powers and responsibilities of the general manager of the corporation, included the following task:
(Preparing reports about the corporation's operations related to its financial situation and submitting them to the board of directors).
Well, if this is actually happening, I have (20) questions that I pose today to the board of directors of the corporation:
1) Were these reports clear and accurate in describing and diagnosing the current and future financial reality of the corporation?
2) Were these periodic regular reports, and how many were there in the last seven years?
3) Were they discussed by the board of directors?
4) If the answer to the previous question is yes, what were the results of the discussions?
5) Did the board meeting minutes for the past five years include recommendations related to the financial state of the corporation?
6) Did the board discuss the gradual decrease in the insurance financial surplus of the corporation and its reasons?
7) Did any decision by the board relate to the forced early retirement of public sector employees, and was a recommendation raised to the government regarding the implications of these excessive early retirements on the financial position of the corporation?
8) Did the board discuss the phenomenon of insurance evasion in its various forms, what solutions and policies were established, and what was decided about them?
9) Did the board consider why the majority of non-Jordanian labor is still outside the social security coverage, and if deliberated, what did it recommend and decide about including them?
10) How many times did the board of directors meet with the Investment and Insurances Boards to evaluate the work situation of the two boards, and how committed they were to the general policies approved for each?
11) Did the board attempt to review and develop the general investment policies of the corporation and its general investment plan?
12) How often did the board meet with the actuarial experts it appointed to review the financial position of the corporation in accordance with the provisions of the law, and were they discussed in the results of their reports, especially the findings and indicators of the last two actuarial studies, the tenth and eleventh?
13) Did the board of directors ever discuss the issue of conflicting responsibilities and overlaps between it and the Investment Board?
14) Did the board discuss the reasons behind the increasing number of retirees versus the limited and weak growth in the number of insured individuals, and if so, what solutions were established?
15) Did the board explore whether the allocation of the investment fund's portfolios matches global standards and best practices for retirement and social insurance fund investments?
16) Did the board review the programs launched by the corporation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of each program, its results, the amount of recovered sums, the volume of unrecovered amounts, and the impacts of these programs and their costs on the financial position of the corporation and also on the insured individuals, particularly the programs related to partial inclusion in insurances?
17) Did the board even once discuss the reasons for the Investment Fund's past reluctance to strengthen its stock portfolio and increase its ownership in the capital of mining companies, especially Phosphate and Potash?
18) Did the board review the complete report on the outputs of the national social dialogue submitted by the Economic and Social Council on reforms to the Social Security Law?
19) How many sessions did it take for the board to approve the recent amendments to the Social Security Law which were presented to the cabinet?
20) How many times has the board or any of its members requested the activation of Article (89/A) of the law relating to raising the minimum basic retirement salary? Has the board or any of its members previously requested the activation of Article (18/C) of the law related to recommending to the cabinet to take necessary measures to strengthen the financial position of the corporation?
I hope that every member of the board of directors of the corporation answers these questions to themselves and judges their own commitment to the gravitas of their responsibility.
