By Stephen Asante, GNA
Mamponteng (Ash), Nov. 02, GNA – The Social
Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in a bid to get more of its
members registered biometrically, has adopted a doorstep approach for the
benefit of the Ghanaian worker.
According to the Officials, the objective is
to register as many as possible, members of SSNIT, including pensioners who
were yet to be captured under the on-going exercise.
Ms. Laurette Korkor Otchere, Deputy
Director-General, Operations and Benefits, SSNIT, in an interview with the
Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Mamponteng in the Kwabre-East District of the
Ashanti Region, said a lot of pensioners had still not registered biometrically.
“As of today, we have thousands of
pensioners who are yet to register,” she stated, and disclosed that after the
first phase of a similar exercise for members aged 72 and above, last year,
about eight thousand ghost names were de-activated from the payroll.
A little over 2, 000 of the affected who
were still alive, however, had their benefits restored when they later came to
register biometrically with a proof of their existence.
Ms. Otchere pointed out that for pensioners
under age 72 who were yet to register, “it is necessary that they contacted the
nearest SSNIT facility in order to be assisted to undergo the processes
successfully.”
“Beginning this November, we will start the
second phase of deleting from the payroll all ghost names,” she told the GNA.
She appealed to those who for one reason or
the other could not be physically present for the biometric registration to
endeavour to notify the officials for home assistance.
“Managers of the Trust, has so far, saved a
whopping figure in excess of 56 million Ghana cedis through the de-activation
of ghost names,” she stressed.
Ms. Otchere hinted that over 250 million
Ghana Cedis was paid monthly to pensioners as benefits.
The SSNIT biometric registration exercise at
Mamponteng and other areas, including Obuasi, Konongo, Suame, Asafo, Boamang
and Offinso, had so far, seen high patronage with several pensioners coming on
board.
GNA
