A Communication team member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Haruna Halidu has emphasized that the recent Social Security and National Insurance Trust [SSNIT] software contract scandal has benefited the nation more than doom.
“I don’t see why people are creating negative impressions more than positive with reference to the SSNIT software scandal, when in genuine thinking the nation has had much benefit than disadvantage from the software introduced,” he said.
During a panel discussion on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ programme, Alhaji Halidu noted that “the rate at which funds belonging to employees were being spent unaccounted for have decreased due to the system introduced. . . Let us also bear in mind that the fact that one knows the cost of items does not mean he/she automatically knows its value.”
Despite his thoughts, he still believes anyone involved in the scandal must be made to face the laws of the land squarely after the necessary investigations.
SSNIT in 2012 awarded a software contract to Perfect Business Solutions Limited for the installation of automation processes, to provide superior services to SSNIT customers, reduce member enrolment cycle through forms, provide effective reporting solution, achieve real time processing of contribution reports and reduce benefit processing time.
Meanwhile the initial contract sum of $34 million later shot up to over $72 million after two years leaving citizens in doubt.
This has led the state pension’s trust under investigations by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) for spending $72 million on procuring and installing software and other hardware systems known as the Operational Business Suite (OBS) in a bid to digitize the Trust.
Parliament has also said it will start investigations into the saga when the house resumes in October.
Speaking at a forum to assess the work of the first and second meeting of Parliament, Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, said the inconsistencies in the amount for the software project demonstrate a lack of professionalism in the use of public funds.
Source: GhanaWeb
