Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1968)

Articles 71 and 72 of the Convention. General responsibility of the State for the proper administration of the social security system. With reference to its previous comments and the observations made in recent years by the Free Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CLTM) and the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM) concerning the application of the Convention in practice, the Committee notes that the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) supervisory services have prepared annual supervision plans with the objective of inspecting all employers to prevent any evasion of contributions and are collaborating for this purpose with the legal affairs unit of the general inspectorate of the fiscal administration services. The CNSS is also represented at the single counter established by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance for the registration of new employers following their establishment and procedures have been simplified for the submission of declarations and the payment of contributions, which now occurs on a quarterly basis for all employers. The CNSS has also established a plan of action for the period 2014–20 in which priority is given to:

• -the implementation of the conclusions of the 2002 actuarial study recommending the gradual increase of contribution rates and the regular raising of contribution ceilings (from 70,000 to 150,000 ouguiyas);
• -the search for a lasting equilibrium in the system through an investment policy offering good returns and a new actuarial evaluation, submitted to the tripartite partners during the course of 2016;
• -the extension in 2017 of the coverage of the system to all the regions of the country; and
• -the adaptation, as indicated previously, of the applicable legislation to the economic and social situation with ILO support for the revision of the legislation.

The Committee takes due note of this information, which bears witness to a resolute desire to guarantee the durability and proper governance of the social security system and requests the Government to report on the progress achieved in the implementation of the announced reforms, in accordance with Articles 71 and 72 of the Convention, under the terms of which the State shall accept general responsibility for the proper administration of the social security system, based on a clear and precise legal framework, reliable actuarial data, supervision by the representatives of the persons protected, an effective inspection system and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. The Committee observes in this regard that the social partners have not provided further observations and would be grateful to be informed whether they participate in the implementation of these reforms.

Part XI of the Convention (Standards to be complied with by periodical payments). Article 65. With regard to raising the ceilings for the earnings taken into consideration for the purposes of contributions, the Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 65 of the Convention, contributions should be set at a sufficiently high level to guarantee the minimum level of benefit for the persons protected whose earnings do not exceed the ceiling. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate in its next report the level of the said reference wage.