27 Brong Ahafo employers owe SSNIT 1.1 billion cedis

Sunyani (B/A), Sept. 17 GNA - About 27 employers in Brong-Ahafo Region are indebted to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to the tune of 1.1 billion cedis in terms of payment of contributions of their employees.

Mr Ben Osei Bonsu, Brong-Ahafo Area Manager of SSNIT who announced this at a workshop organised for Civil and Building Contractors in the Region on Friday mentioned educational institutions, timber firms, contractors and sawmill operators as the offending employers. The two-day workshop was organised by Global Support Services (GSS), a non-governmental organization (NGO).

Mr Bonsu would not disclose the names of the defaulting employers but said his outfit had reported the conduct of some of the employers to the police and would be prosecuted at the law courts. He stressed the need for contributors of SSNIT to update personal information to ensure speedy processing of pension benefits. The process of pension, he said, depended on valid information of contributors.

He said SSNIT was set up under the Social Security Law 1991 (PNDCL 247) to administer the National pension scheme. He advised workers in the informal sector to register with the Trust to ensure that their welfare was protected. Mr Vincent Yaw Negble, Development Manager of GSS, said the workshop was aimed at updating the knowledge of the participants to plan and execute projects effectively in their various organizations.