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The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) on Monday announced a 13.5% interest rate for the 2024/25 financial year.
The declaration was made by Hon Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
This rate, the highest in the fund's history, was unexpected by many. Some anticipated a lower rate than last year's 11.5% due to the recent winding down of Umeme Ltd.
NSSF was the largest single shareholder in the power distribution company. It held a 23% stake before the end of the 20-year government concession.
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Fund’s Investment in Umeme
Speaking at the annual members meeting, Patrick Ayota, the NSSF Managing Director, explained that NSSF’s investment in Umeme was not a loss.
“We had to wind down Umeme when its concession ended, which was at Shs 117 billion in our books.”
Yet by the time of Umeme’s exit, he said, the fund had already recovered its initial investment.
“Between the time we bought Umeme shares we spent 153 billion. Up until March last year, we had got back our dividends of just about the same amount. That means that we had got back all the money that we invested in.”
Umeme signed out as Uganda's top power distributors
Net Returns and Arbitration
Ayota added that the fund had received more money from its Umeme stake.
"Besides the 153 billion, in June we got dividends of Shs 91 billion. So that put the net return on Umeme to about 21%."
This shows that the fund's investment in Umeme was profitable even after the concession ended.
He also noted that there is an ongoing arbitration. The arbitration is between Umeme and the government of Uganda on the concession payout.
"If it goes well Umeme gets more money from this, we shall receive more money and it will be reflected in this year’s income numbers," Ayota said.
Broad Portfolio Protects Returns
The NSSF performance was strong across its portfolio. Ayota reported that as of June 2025, NSSF savings account for 11.5% of Uganda’s GDP.
The total savings stand at Shs 26.01 trillion. The fund's investments are diversified. Shs 13.7 trillion is in government domestic debt, Shs 1.6 trillion in real estate, and Shs 1.45 trillion in local companies.
A report by KPMG said the fund has added Shs 59.5 trillion to the Ugandan economy over the last 10 years.