The Social Security and National Insurance Trust — SSNIT — says it is intensifying public education and leveraging technology to encourage more people in the informal sector to contribute to the scheme.
This comes as data shows only a small percentage of Ghana’s workforce in the informal sector contributes to SSNIT.
Out of a population of about 34 million people, it is estimated that over two million are active contributors of SSNIT out of which only 708,731 people, representing 36 per cent in the formal sector.
The private sector now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all contributors, with over 96,000 private establishments registered under the scheme. However, Contributions from the informal sector remains low. Some self employed contributors in the informal sector believe enhance public education will help bring many onboard from the informal sector.
At the launch of the sixtieth anniversary edition of the SSNIT Mobile Service Week in Koforidua, Director-General of SSNIT, Kwesi Afrey Biney, said the Trust is expanding digital services to make contributions easier and more convenient in addition to its 53 physical branches.
A Virtual Branch, which is expected to go live before the end of the year, will operate 24 hours a day and complement existing tools like the SSNIT Mobile App and USSD code.
SSNIT is also partnering with banks including to establish SSNIT Service Desks within their branches nationwide.
Eastern Regional Minister Rita Akosua Agyei Awatey urged all workers — especially those in the informal sector — to take their SSNIT contributions seriously.
Story by: Kojo Ansah/Eastern Region
