Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang
President Akufo-Addo has appointed former Minister of Education under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Elizabeth Akua Ohene, as Board Chairperson of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The President also retained Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang as the Director-General of SSNIT, a decision the President took in consultation with the Council of State as required by the constitution.
The veteran journalist, who worked with the BBC for many years, presently serves on the Board of the International Commission of Investigative Journalists, which coordinates major investigations of stories around the world.
In the case of Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, since his first appointment on March 29, 2017, he has brought transformation to the operation of SSNIT as the operator of the national basic pension.
He is credited for the transparency, accountability and client-focused initiative being enjoyed at the Trust currently.
He ensured the effective deployment and utilisation of resources at SSNIT to achieve the strategic goals of the Trust, which has made significant strides over the last four years.
As of December, 2020, the number of workers actively contributing to the SSNIT scheme had grown by 28.35% from about 1.3 million in December 2016 to 1.6 million.
Also, the net assets of the Trust increased from GH¢8.405 billion as at December 2016 to GH¢11.35 billion as at December 2020, which represents a growth of 35.05%.
In 2019, SSNIT introduced the annual issuance of electronic statements to all contributors as part of measures to cut down cost of printing statements, improve transparency and boost confidence of members in the scheme.
Based on feedback from contributors and the quest to keep them updated, the Electronic Statement of Accounts is now issued quarterly.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang was said to have introduced measures to reduce the cost burden on the Trust, and as at December 2020, SSNIT had made savings of over GH¢512 million on legacy investment transactions, ICT support fees and the deletion of names of “ghost pensioners” from the pensioners payroll.
One of the major challenges that confronted SSNIT was the delay in pension processing, and with the adoption of appropriate strategies, first pensions are now paid within 10 days after submission of application compared to the 47 days it took before his tenure.
SSNIT now provides multiple service delivery points, carries out periodic engagement with Organised Labour through leadership of TUC and has rolled out innovative stakeholder engagements such as regular media briefings, focal persons training, SSNIT Infoshop with students, SSNIT Minute on radio and Employers Breakfast Meetings to boost voluntary compliance.
SSNIT since 2017 has won several awards including the 2019 Company of the Year (Public Sector) at the Ghana Business Awards, PR Organisation of the Year Award 2019, Outstanding Director-General for the year 2018, and Procurement Transformation CEO of the Year – 2018 among others.
By Ernest Kofi Adu