SSNIT Director-General, Ernest Thompson
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is poised to continue investment in various sectors of the economy to boost socio-economic development of the country.
SSNIT was established in 1972 to administer the social fund. The Trust, which adopted pension scheme from 1991, has provided monthly income to many pensioners.
The primary responsibility of SSNIT is to replace part of the lost income of workers in Ghana or their dependents in the event of statutory retirement, invalidity or death.
The Trust, which currently has over 150,000 pensioners and over 1.2 million contributors, has invested in many sectors of the economy.
Some of the existing investments are in Fixed income – a portfolio of bonds (Corporate and Ghana Government), loan facilities and treasury placement; Equities – investment in both listed and unlisted companies; Real Estate – investment in landed property, project development and property management, and Alternative Investments – Including private equity and Economically Targeted Investments (ETI).
The Trust’s equity instruments mainly consist of listed and unlisted companies. It is the largest single institutional investor on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) that is helping to nurture the development and sustenance of the capital market in Ghana.
SSNIT has investments in 22 of the 35 listed companies.
The Trust also has investments in the equities of some companies that are not listed on the GSE. It currently has shares in 39 of such unlisted companies across different sectors of the economy.
SSNIT has also invested in hotels that provide temporary accommodation, restaurant services and recreational facilities for businesses and clients.
They include Labadi Beach Hotel, the first Ghanaian 5 Star hotel, Golden Beach Hotels which comprises La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort and Busia Beach Resort, Novotel Hotel and Ogua Hotel, which would be opened in Cape Coast soon.
Additionally, SSNIT has invested in transport service companies such as the Mass Metro Transit Limited, which provides safe, reliable and affordable transport services to the lower income segment of the Ghanaian society and Trust Logistics Limited (TIL).
TLL operates a fleet of 40 trucks fairly spread between wet and dry cargo operations.
As far back as 1974, the Trust committed funds to real estate development.
The housing projects of SSNIT can be found in all 10 regions of Ghana.
The Trust has total residential housing units of over 7,168 across the country, with 96 percent sold to mostly salaried workers.
To support the justice delivery in Ghana, SSNIT funded the construction of the new ultramodern court complex and also provided loans to complete the state tower block popularly known as Job 600 which provides office accommodation for parliamentarians in Ghana.
Ongoing housing projects are; the affordable housing project at Borteyman-1,525, the affordable housing project at Asokore-Mampong, which when completed will provide 925 blocks comprising 1,125 flats, RSS Developers Klagon-1,688, RSS Developers, Sakumono (semi-detached)-42, SDL, Switchback road (mixed use)-446, Trust F-line Properties Limited, Sakumono-240 and the Dunkonah Housing Project, Dunkona-608.
The Trust in 2010 decided to support government’s efforts at providing adequate energy for industrial and domestic usage by investing in a power plant to diversify the investment portfolio, reduce risk and support the Ghanaian economy.
The Tema Cenit Thermal Power Project (TCTPP) is an electric power generation project being undertaken by Cenit Energy Limited (CEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cenit Investment Limited (CIL), an investment company incorporated by the SSNIT to undertake investment in the energy sector.
The TCTPP generates 126 megawatts (MW) of electric power to the national grid.
The Trust Hospital (TTH) was established by SSNIT in 1992 as a non-profit healthcare centre for SSNIT employees.
The facility was later upgraded into a hospital to extent its services to the public to support the national health delivery system.
The Trust Hospital was incorporated as a limited liability company in 2010, with 100 percent SSNIT ownership.
The Trust currently is committed to four Private Equity Funds including a local one, Fidelity Equity Fund II.
The other three funds, which are international, include ECP Africa Fund III, Pan Africa Infrastructural Fund (PAIDF) and Canada Investment Fund for Africa (CIFA).
According to the management of SSNIT, all these laudable investment initiatives are geared towards enhancing the lives of pensioners whose annual absolute growth is over 7,000.
SSNIT management is headed by the Director-General, Ernest Thompson and governed by a 13-member board of trustees chaired by Professor Joshua Alabi.
