Social Security to cover informal sector

The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang has said his outfit would be rolling out targeted pension products for workers in the informal sector.

Speaking in an interview at his office in Accra, the renowned investment banker said that, the Scheme would cover workers and players in the informal sector who hitherto have not joined the Tier 1 Scheme.

“Our goal is to ensure that every Ghanaian worker will have a secure future by providing them partial income replacement in the event of old age or permanent invalidity. Unlike the formal scheme, this has been designed with the lifestyle, nature of the businesses in the informal sector and the peculiar needs of our would-be contributors in mind. The right to a good life after retirement is not the preserve of workers in the formal sector alone, all of us are entitled to a good retirement package” he said

He made a passionate appeal to the Ghanaian populace to inculcate the habit and culture of saving towards their future.

“There is no better time to have financial independence than after retirement.”

The DG observed expectation is that workers in the informal sector such as traders, farmers, Kayayei, fishermen, hawkers, artisans, market women, actors, sportsmen and women will come on board for a secure future.

The SSNIT boss made these remarks during a courtesy call at his office where he made a personal donation to the Pamela Bridgewater Project, which is concerned with the welfare of female porters.

He appealed to other institutions to extend their support to the project to secure the future and welfare of the Kayayei. Dr. Tenkorang is credited with the transformation of SSNIT into a more transparent institution dedicated to the promotion of income security for eligible workers.

He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where obtained a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Engineer, and Doctor of Science Degrees in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.