Ibrahim Mahama pays SSNIT in excess

An Accra District Court, has struck out the case of Engineers and Planners (E&P) for their failure to pay the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions of workers.

E&P paid more than what it owed SSNIT.

The prosecutor for SSNIT, Leena Adoma Aboagye, told the court last Saturday, that her superiors had instructed her to withdraw the suit as the company had paid the money.

But lawyer for Ibrahim Mahama, Nancy Amarteifio, told the court Engineers and Planners paid the money before the summons were served on April 13.

The Trust, dragged Engineers and Planners CEO Ibrahim Mahama – the younger brother of former President John Dramani Mahama – and the company’s directors to court for failing to pay social security contributions of staff as required by law.

Officers at SSNIT, had said that an inspection of the books of the company revealed that from February 2015 to July 2015, June 2016 to August 2016, and in October 2016, the SSNIT contributions of employees, amounting to GH¢668, 754.75, had not been paid contrary to the National Pensions Act of 2008, Act 766, which states that an employer is expected to pay social security on behalf of the employees at the end of every month.

The substantive amount, however, had attracted interest and penalty of about 400,000 cedis, bringing the total indebtedness to SSNIT to a little over one million Ghana cedis.

Lawyer for the company, Ms Nancy Amartefio, confirmed to the court that E&P, had already paid more than 2 million Ghana Cedis to SSNIT, which is in excess of the amount owed.

This payment was made even before the first hearing of the case.

The prosecution was, therefore, rendered unnecessary and Ibrahim Mahama vindicated.