From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
As part of ongoing efforts to restructure its services delivery, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), has disclosed plans to introduce a toll free, 24-hour Call Centre to boost access and ginger prompt feedback from its numerous publics.
This was announced Thursday, by the Managing Director of the Fund, Dr. Michael Akabogu at the 2022 NSITF-SERVICOM Stakeholder Forum held in Abuja .
According to Abuogu, “ to bolster service delivery, the fund will in the next few months unveil a toll free, 24-hour Call Centre, with a catchy, easy-to -remember code to enhance access and prompt feedback.
“This is a fundamental step intended to tear down the wall between the fund and its numerous publics especially with the issues of complaints on claims, registration and emergencies. It will effectively eliminate cases, where mishaps are not promptly reported for reasons of hours of the day or days of the week, when offices are usually shut.”
Akabogu who also announced plans for a comprehensive Employee Enumeration of all workers of the organisations and companies that are registered under the Employee Compensation Scheme, stating that the development was necessary to ensure that compensation and other services are availed only to the registered or indemnified workers.
“As part of our strategic reforms, plans are in motion for a comprehensive Employee Enumeration to ensure that compensation and other services are availed only to the registered or indemnified workers of an organization or company.
“This will eliminate cases where benefits are dispensed to proxies outside the bracket of indemnity. Using the National Identity Management (NIM) biometrics, the fund will henceforth run an integrated data base of each company/ organization and the indemnified staff members to track membership and ensure efficient service delivery,” he added.
The NSITF boss noted that a major challenge was clients who refuse to file in their complaints or do so through the wrong channels.
He further noted the programme would be a huge boost to the fund’s inroad into the bustling informal sector, where regular Nigerians in dire need of the services abound.
“The problem here in Nigeria is that people don’t actually channel what is required to the right source, we have a department SERVICOM department is thee, we have people in claims equally , we have risk management department, various places or various departments or units that is meant to to handle such conflicts that but most time they don’t report these to us. They keep it within themselves and still complain. But the ones that we actually receive, we do tackle them.
“Over the past one year, most of the claims were paid before 14 days but now, we want to shorten the time frame to 10 days. SERVICOM department is one of the core areas we need to reinforce to achieve this , so that the entire country will feel the impact of what we are doing.
“Our SERVICOM operation was not top notch hitherto but we have made tremendous improvement Right now, I rate our compliance level about 78 percent . But going forward, in the next few months, when we would have established a call centre to widen the scope of feedback , it will jump to 100 percent,” he added.
He commended the tripartite stakeholders for participation at the programme and noted that NSITF being a unique service delivery agency, needed the input of all stakeholders to succeed, hence the imperative of the forum.
In her address , the National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Mrs. Nnenna Akajemeli said the forum was an opportunity to interact with the beneficiaries and stakeholders of the fund, to equip participants with feedback towards ensuring seamless services.
She emphasized the place of routine monitoring of service delivery to engender new strategies to tackle emerging issues,
“For NSITF, achieving quality service delivery is no longer a choice. The lives of the citizens must be touched through its services
“Hence, a strategic method must be employed to deliver excellent service to citizens e. g. going the extra mile to provide prompt services such as resolution of complaints, prompt payment of compensation” she said.
Akajemeli called on the fund to expediate action on the official presentation of the its Service Charter as well as regular training of staff on service delivery and further pressed for a quarterly convening of stakeholder forum. She added that adequate publicity was equally needed to bring the services of the fund to the grassroots, while routine monitoring of its zonal and State branches was needed to ensure compliance to service standard.