Mahama is not confusing anybody - Former Minister

Mavis Ama Frimpong, a former Eastern Regional Minister, says President Akufo-Addo by an executive instrument can order the payment of monies to SSNIT contributors to ease the COVID-19-induced hardships.

“Social security contributions are essentially an insurance scheme made not just for pensions in old age before we die. They are also made to help contributors in times of adversities such as this. Not all will come out and queue for food, but as has been done in other countries like St. Lucia, I think a token payment to all contributors of a certain token sum over three months would have afforded many the assurance of feeding their families during this abnormal times,” Ex-president Mahama is quoted to have said during his recent digital broadcast to the public.

But the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in a statement reacting to the former president's comments, said he is uniformed about their operations.

According to them, it will be against the law to do that.

Contributing to a panel discussion on UTV's Critical Issues, Mavis Frimpong said since we're not in normal times, the President by an act of Parliament or an executive instrument direct SSNIT to do as the former President suggested.

"If you do exclusion that is what happens…when he said he needs everybody’s help, I thought he will call on the former president...but I don’t see anything wrong with what the former president is saying; he’s not confusing anybody. I won't agree," she indicated.