Anglican Clergy-Laity Pension Scheme: Investment Opportunity for Uganda Christian University to Walk the Dream – ‘A Centre of Excellence in the Heart of Africa’

Abstract

Social security pension scheme, a mercantile investment approach to accumulate funds to meet the financial needs of people in their old age is a phenomenon that has been in existence since days ancient. Accordingly, this scholarly article examines the trends of social security pension schemes since precolonial Uganda. Centrally, the article examines the pivotal role Uganda Christian University can play to influence Clergy and Laity in the Anglican church of Uganda to save funds for their old age life survival and how the academic institution can utilize the accumulated savings to influence academic institution programmes expansion and financial sustainability. In order to attain insights on how the Ugandan society has been supported to engage in old age savings, haphazard sampling, participant observation, and historical analysis approaches were relied on. Study findings indicate that during precolonial Uganda, traditional social security mechanisms were the vibrant means through which the vulnerable groups of society were communally offered support. When the British took over, statutory social service pension schemes, parallel to those in Europe, were introduced. Since then, European transplanted old age savings schemes benefit only Ugandans enrolled in the formal and private employment sectors. For the majority workforce in the informal employment sector, although dotted social investment groups have formularised their voluntary savings schemes, there are no clear legislated systems that hold them accountable to save funds regularly to cater for their old age financial needs. Hence, in the Anglican church of Uganda fraternity, it has been brought to light that, if Uganda Christian University leadership, takes on Clergy-laity pension scheme management, then:  a) the vision of the Anglican Church of Uganda – ‘A Faster Growing Sustainable Christ-Cantered Church,’ will be tangible, and b) the academic institution will be at the cutting edge dream walk – ‘A Centre of Excellence in the Heart of Africa’.