I have just perused the NDC Manifesto, and two key things have been realised in the entire Manifesto. Firstly, it is either a copycat of the NPP Manifesto launched a week earlier in Takoradi or a rehash of existing policies already in motion. I have seen a number of policy details in the NDC document on education, for example, that mimics that of the NPP or a rehash of their own 2012 Manifesto, which they never implemented. A typical example is the financial support for teachers in rural areas. I will revisit the hoax of the NDC Manifesto in education on another day. For today, however, i want to concentrate on the NDC promises on Pension, as this has been my area of practice for the past seven years. The NDC Manifesto on Page 44, Section 6.3 of the main document on Pension Sector states that, the next NDC government will introduce a new pension scheme for organised groups in the informal sector, specifically cocoa and cashew farmers, driver unions such as GPRTU and PROTOA, beauticians, hairdressers, union of traders, dressmakers, artisans etc, etc. This the NDC consider as essential for the economy of Ghana to grow.
Unfortunately, the NDC Manifesto Committee have done the party and it’s flagbearer a huge disservice into making them believe that these are new ideas. As the immediate past CEO of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, I want to put it on record that all these pension schemes are already in existence and running smoothly. These schemes are run as private schemes run by boards of trustees, managed by Pension Trust companies, regulated by the Board of National Pensions Regulatory Authority. These are run as informal sector schemes under the third- tier of Ghana’s 3-Tier Pension System. Schemes running under these arrangements include the Cocoa Farmers’ Pension Scheme, Cocoa Abrabopa Pension Scheme, Union of Informal Sector Workers (UNIWA) Pension Scheme which covers beauticians, dressmakers, traders, artisans, barbers etc. There is also a GPRTU Pension Scheme as well as the Garages Scheme. Apart from these Scheme, running under Tier 3, SSNIT also runs a scheme for informal sector or self-employed persons under its Tier 1 scheme. The Scheme dubbed SEED (Self-Employed Enrolmemt Drive) has been in existence over the past two years.
The NDC Manifesto is, therefore, not promising anything new but a copy of existing schemes.
Currently, over two-million Ghanaians within the informal sector are covered by a pension scheme of one form or the other. It is also a hoax for the NDC to promise that they will do a top-up of the schemes without showing how or where the funding will come from. The Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme is a top-up one funded by Cocobod.
The NDC Manifesto on Pensions is noting than a hoax or repackage of existing schemes.
Hayford Atta-Krufi Writes