President Jerry John Rawlings on Friday said government proposes to set up a committee to restructure the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in response to concerns of the major contributors and stakeholders to the social security scheme. A statement from office of the president said “the appointment of the committee will be made subsequent to the completion of investigations being carried out by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)”.
He therefore urged the SFO to use all legitimate methods to arrive at the truth. “Experts could even be invited to administer the lie detector tests to witnesses who will be testing in the investigations”, President Rawlings said.
He said the orchestration of the SSNIT affair for political purposes, is too obvious. In his first ever statement on the issue, President Rawlings noted efforts made by the present management under Mr Charles Asare, Director-General of SSNIT, to correct some anomalies affecting the organisation’s operations.
The President said he was also aware of measures taken by the new team to streamline the structure of SSNIT’s investment portfolio and institute a more effective management system.
He said he hoped that the SFO investigations and the recommendations of the committee when set up would further help in improving the administration of the trust. There have been newspaper reports recently alleging impropriety, misapplication and stealing of SSNIT funds
