The management of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has launched an award scheme for journalists who write well-researched articles to educate the public on social security issues.
Dr Frank Odoom, Director-General of the SSNIT, announcing the award scheme, noted that the best social security journalist award would be included in the 2012 Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards.
The winner of the award, which is in partnership with the Centre for Media Analysis, will get an all expenses trip to Turin, Italy to undertake a three-week training on pensions and social security at the International Labour Organisations (ILO) International training Centre.
The winner will also be presented with a certificate and plaque at the 2012 GJA Awards night.
Dr Odoom stated that SSNIT, as apart of its corporate communications objective, would reward the media house with the highest coverage of social security issues in the year.
He observed that there is lack of understanding on issues regarding social security and pensions on the part of the public and noted that the media has a major role to play in educating Ghanaians.
'We live in a society where people start to ask questions about their pensions only when they are about to retire or are faced with the loss of income,' he said.
He stated that SSNIT has employed communication strategies to educate workers and Ghanaians on the benefits of social security and pension.
'In 2010 alone, we educated 400,000 workers through face-to-face communication all over the country and had 146 radio and TV education programs in seven local languages.'
In spite of the efforts of the Trust, the Director-General mentioned that the understanding of the subject of social security was still a challenge, adding 'this is simply because we consider social security to be for the aged and the years between our current age and the old aged is seen as infinity.'
Social security is a social protection mechanism aimed at primarily preventing poverty, disability, unemployment, among others.
It is a government sponsored insurance programme defined by statue to serve a defined population and funded through premiums or taxes or contributions paid by or on behalf of participants.
Ransford Tetteh, President of the GJA, speaking at the launching ceremony, noted that journalists are expected to educate, entertain and inform the public 'but we can only do our work well if we are better informed.'
He appealed to journalists to pay more attention to social and developmental issues rather than concentrate on politics.
'The over concentration on politics is doing the nation a great disservice. That is not to say politics is not important but there are other equally important issues that we are relegating to the background.'
By Emelia Ennin Abbey
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