CAP 30 is not sustainable - SSNIT

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has stated that it will under no circumstances, deceive the government into developing a scheme like the CAP 30, because it is not sustainable.

SSNIT says it would be sincere with the government and decision-makers with its advice on a sustainable national insurance scheme.

The Head of Public Affairs of SSNIT, Kwaku Osei-Bimpong, said the CAP 30, which various organisations and labour groups were agitating for is not sustainable and that SSNIT would not advise the government to opt for it.

Osei-Bimong was speaking at an interaction with the Central Regional press corps at Cape Coast on Wednesday.

He said more than 20 years ago, the government realised that the CAP 30 could not be sustained, adding that a decision to go back to the CAP 30 scheme would be a regrettable one.

Osei-Bimpong said care must be taken to calculate the cost to the country before any decision should be taken on a new pension scheme.

He admitted that the trust had, in the past, made some investments which had not been very profitable but added that SSNIT was re-focusing to ensure efficient management and enhanced services. He gave examples of such investments in the Accra Abattoir and in the Ghana Breweries Limited.

He said SSNIT was making efforts to publish its annual statement of accounts in the newspapers for public scrutiny.

The Area Manager for the Western/Central regions, Barima Ansu-Adjei, said employers owed SSNIT a lot of workers' contributions and urged them to make prompt payment to enable their employees enjoy their pension benefits.

The media also called on SSNIT to make its operations more open to the public.