As part of the successes chalked by the John Ofori-Tenkorang-administration as Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), a “savings of GH¢876.61 million through restructuring of some legacy investments, rationalization of our ICT infrastructure and deactivation of some 19,100 “ghost” pensioners from the pension payroll.”
This is contained in a departed message delivered by the former SSNIT boss with Members of the Executive, Area Managers, Departmental Heads, and Leadership of ID bodies Monday, April 15, 2024.
According to him, he inherited SSNIT at the time it had been badmouthed to the extent that people were calling for its dissolution, but was able to manage affairs with his team to bring the Trust to this stage where it has made a lot of achievements.
He cited the “lack of transparency, inadequate pensions, poor customer service, perceived corruption” as part of the reasons he had people telling him “SSNIT was a good place to work but they were quick to add that they will not give their money to SSNIT.”
He continued that “our image was so battered that we were being called thieves. We were embarrassed to wear our own corporate cloth and some external stakeholders were calling for SSNIT to be shut down.”
According to Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, he had to “confess at the time, it did cross my mind that maybe I had bitten more than I could chew.”
But having navigated through the challenges, he was able to make some substantial gains, bringing some glory to the then battered state institution.
Listing some of the achievements chalked under his tenure, Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang said his administration was able to execute the following:
- Increased active membership from 1,315,499 in 2017 to 1,951,494 in 2023, indicating a growth of 48.34%.
- Rolled out the Self-employed Enrollment Drive (SEED), an initiative targeted at enrolling the self-employed as part of efforts to expand coverage of the Scheme. Since we started this drive, our active membership of self-employed persons on our schemes has more than quadrupled.
- Improved average processing time for Pension application by 83%. The average processing improved from 47 days in 2016 to 8 days as of March 2024.
- Made significant savings of GH¢876.61 million through restructuring of some legacy investments, rationalization of our ICT infrastructure and deactivation of some 19,100 “ghost” pensioners from the pension payroll.
- Implemented new investment guidelines and asset allocation policy approved by the Board of Trustees to improve investment returns.
- Completed and monetised Government of Ghana affordable housing projects at Borteyman in Accra and Asokore Mampong, Kumasi.
- Initiated the process for private sector participation in SSNIT hotels to enhance their viability. Brought the International Social Security Association (ISSA) Liaison Office for West Africa from Cote d’ Ivoire to Ghana
Read his full message to the SSNIT staff here.
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