Dismissed Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, has said it once crossed his mind that he probably bit more than he could chew, considering the challenges he had to go through at the early days of taking over at the Trust.
In a zoom interaction with Members of the Executive, Area Managers, Departmental Heads, and Leadership of ID bodies Monday, April 15, 2024, he expressed appreciation for the laurels they managed to chalk despite the challenges at play at the time he took over.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang said things were so bad at the time that people had to call for the dissolution of the Trust.
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.
onuaonline.com
