The Acting Executive Director of Labour Policy International has described the Social Security and National Insurance Trust’s (SSNIT) Info Shop project as unnecessary and a waste of contributor’s funds.

According to the labour policy think tank, the state pension trust SSNIT must rather focus on better projects which will bring good returns to its members than spending on projects out of its mandate.

SSNIT at the beginning of this year in partnership with the University Students Association of Ghana (USAG) have been organizing series of workshops called Info Shop sessions in some tertiary institutions in the country to educate students on the importance of the scheme.

Seth Abloso said SSNIT has no mandate to spend monies contributed by its members on projects which do not directly benefit them.

He said, “SSNIT is essentially responsible for the first tier because the first tier membership is compulsory. So if it is compulsory, persons automatically get on when they begin work and am saying that, if you are telling them of the benefits of SSNIT, they see the benefit in the lives of their parents and uncles and aunties at home. 

They see the poverty of these people who have worked years and contributed to the scheme in their homes and environment. Therefore it does not need the Director-General of the pensions trust to be gallivanting in universities under the disguise of educating these students.”

Mr Abloso said, “By virtue of the fact that the membership of the institution is compulsory when you start working you are put on the scheme immediately. This so-called infoshop is a complete waste of the member’s contributor’s funds and the earlier that is checked the better for all of us.”

He further stated that “it’s regrettable that SSNIT should be wasting resources this way. Wherever they’ve been to, they’ve caused financial loss to the fund, they have no business doing any infoshop with students and campaigning even for membership because membership to SSNIT is compulsory.”

The SSNIT Info Shop is an information-sharing forum meant to educate university students about the importance of social security and is also intended to help university students to appreciate how SSNIT could help them to prepare, secure and take control of their lives before and beyond age 60 or in the event of permanent invalidity.

SNNIT, Joy Business understands is pushing for an educational curriculum at the basic level as part of moves to imbibe into the population the importance of preparing for pensions early in life. This the pensions trust is doing in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education