The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), would from the end of July this year, issue out bills under its new Employer Member Account Reconciliation (EMAR) system, to prompt indebted employers to pay the pension scheme contributions of their employees. Under the EMAR system, the grand summary of total employer indebtedness based on inspections, up-to-date and last known contribution reports received from employers would be calculated and a monthly bill issued to prevent mounting of debts. This was announced by Mr Allandu Azu, Tema Harbour Branch Manager of SSNIT, at an employers’ seminar at Tema to educate employers contributing towards the scheme through its six branches in the region on their roles under the new system. Mr Azu explained that the EMAR system seeks to address the limitations of the indebtedness schedule, which is the list of indebted employers compiled through the reconciliation of contributions and payment information in the SSNIT database with employer records. He said the system is that of an in-house application, developed by the SSNIT Information Technology Department, which would estimate the total employer indebtedness at the end of every month whether inspections have been conducted or not. The system uses data from contribution reports and payments made by employers to estimate their indebtedness as well as updating arrears of individual indebted employers. Mr Azu warned that employers who fail to pay their debts or negotiate with SSNIT to settle their arrears by instalments, three months after the issuance of the bill, would be prosecuted. Mrs Maame Ekua Amoah, Tema Area Manager in a presentation on employer indebtedness and its effects on SSNIT, said 8,023 out of the over 23,000 employers in the country owed about GH¢43,031,628.00 of SSNIT contributions, as at the end of December 2006 and it increased to GH¢54,442,670.00 by the end 2007. She said 189 employers owe the Tema Harbour Branch of SSNIT GH¢763,958.71 as at December 2007, adding that three companies including the Ghana Printing Company, which is on divestiture, owes over GH¢400,000 out of the total. The Tema Area Manager attributed employers’ indebtedness to irregular payments, leading to arrears of contributions, under payments and under declaring of labour force. Other causes were the elusiveness of some employers, which made it difficult for SSNIT to promptly notify them of their indebtedness while others were said to be recalcitrant and simply refuse to pay their contributions, even when they were notified. Mrs Amoah said the procurement of vital logistics, registration of employers and employees under the scheme, management of bio and financial data of members as well as the prompt and accurate processing of social security benefits are all affected by employer indebtedness. She pleaded with employers to see the payment of SSNIT contributions as a legal requirement and should treat it as priority. Mr George Akyeampong, Deputy Tema Harbour Branch Manager said employers’ role under the EMAR system is to frequently update and notify SSNIT of any change in their records as they occur. Mr Akyeampong urged Employers to make available salary books or pay vouchers, showing the salaries/wages of their employees on a monthly basis to enable SSNIT to reconcile information in its database with employers’ salary books. During an open forum, employers advised SSNIT to assist in correcting anomalies on their contribution reports, instead of rejecting their payment. Answering a question on what the SSNIT was doing to improve upon the accommodation of workers, Mrs Amoah replied that 90 percent of the SSNIT employee’s housing projects have been sold out, but added that, most employees rent the houses out at exorbitant prices to people. Source: GNA