DAR ES SALAAM: THE number of public servants investing through the e-Wekeza payroll deduction platform has surged from 340 to 3,928 within a year, reflecting the success of the government’s efforts to promote an investment culture among civil servants.
The growth has been matched by a sharp increase in monthly contributions, which rose from 22.7m/- at the launch to 219m/- by June this year, underscoring growing confidence in the governmentsupported investment platform.
The impressive performance follows the introduction of the e-Wekeza feature within the Employee Self-Service (ESS) Watumishi Portal, which enables public servants to make structured and affordable investments through automatic salary deductions.
The platform offers civil servants’ convenient access to invest in the Faida Fund, an investment product managed by Watumishi Housing Investment (WHI), as part of the government’s broader drive to promote a culture of saving, investing and long-term wealth creation among public servants.
WHI Investment Officer, Mr Fidelis Lyimo, told the Daily News over the weekend that e-Wekeza window, integrated into the Employee Self-Service (ESS) system, enables public servants to invest through automatic salary deductions, making the investment process easier and more convenient.
He said when the platform was introduced in July last year it attracted 340 investors from 165 government institutions, who invested a total of 22.7m/- through monthly payroll deductions.
“Since then, we have witnessed remarkable growth. By the end of June this year, the number of investors had reached 3,928 from 396 government institutions, while monthly contributions increased to 219m/-,” Mr Lyimo said.
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According to him, cumulative investments by public institutions through the e-Wekeza platform reached 1.166bn/- by the end of June this year.
Mr Lyimo attributed the strong performance to the simplicity of the payroll deduction system, which allows public servants to save and invest consistently without making manual payments. Meanwhile he said WHI plans to increase monthly salary deductions for investments to grow to about 1bn/-.
“WHI will continue working with public institutions to expand awareness of the platform and encourage more civil servants to embrace longterm investment as part of their financial planning,” he said.
The e-Wekeza platform was launched in July last year to enable public servants to invest in the Faida Fund through automatic salary deductions using the government’s Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal, eliminating the need for manual payments.