Former President and Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has questioned why the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) isn’t supporting its contributors to mitigate the hardships on them during this pandemic period.
Addressing the nation yesterday, former President Mahama said it is worrying that SSNIT is unresponsive to the plight of its contributors as COVID-19 is having a toll on businesses, making it difficult for business owners to pay their employees.
According to Mr. Mahama, he’s received several calls from working-class people, especially those in the private sector asking for support since they’ve not been paid for months and are unable to fend for their families.
“My office has been flooded with correspondence from many working-class people, especially in the private sector who have not received their February and/or March salaries, and are having a difficult time feeding, and taking care of their families,” he revealed.
Reacting to the plights of the people, former President Mahama said SSNIT contributions are not only meant for pensioners but also serves as insurance schemes to cushion contributors in times of adversity such as the pandemic.
Suggesting ways to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the lives of people, former president Mahama called on SSNIT to pay tokens for a period of three months to all its contributors.
According to him, this will ease the economic hardships on the contributors.
“The lockdown may have been lifted, but many businesses are still down, and suffering. Employees are suffering too, just as the many players in the informal sector. It makes me wonder why our SSNIT has not been responsive in this time of need of many contributors. Social Security contributions are essentially an insurance scheme made not just for pensions in old age before we die. They are also meant to help contributors in times of adversity such as this,” he said.
“But as has been done in other countries like St. Lucia, I think a token payment to all contributors of a certain token sum over three months would have afforded many the assurance of feeding their families during these abnormal times,” he continued.
