NHIS won't collapse SSNIT pension-Boateng

Elmina Oct 6, GNA - A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Asamoah Boateng, on Monday repeated that the intended deduction of 2.5 per cent of workers social security contribution as seed money for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was not meant to collapse the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme.

He was reacting to fears expressed by some staff of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) District Assembly about the sustainability of the SSNIT vis-=E0-vis the NHIS.

Mr Boateng was addressing the workers as part of his weeklong visit to the Central Region.

He said it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that the health needs of the people were adequately catered for and that this could only be done effectively when the cash and carry system was abolished.

Mr Boateng appealed to all workers to embrace and patronise the NHIS to ensure that the objectives for establishing the scheme were realised.

The District Chief Executive, Nana Ato Arthur, commended the staff of the KEEA Assembly for working assiduously to move the district forward.

He said Ghana Telecom had approved the installation of an additional 962 telephone lines in the district and that the exercise would begin by the end of the month.

The Deputy Minister interacted with the Cape Coast Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Muniru Arafat Nuhu, who complained that the lack of accommodation had compelled many workers to refuse postings to the municipality.

He said people who have gone on retirement were still occupying government bungalows thereby compounding the problem and appealed to the Deputy Minister to help the assembly solve the problem.