The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo, has responded to the University Teachers Association of Ghana’s (UTAG) call for the dissolution of the SSNIT board and management.
UTAG’s demands arose following a controversial attempt to sell SSNIT’s 60 percent stake in four hotels to a private investor.
In a radio interview, Osafo-Maafo emphasized that the current board and management have established investment policies and guidelines to improve SSNIT’s portfolio performance.
He argued, “We have pension fund assets, people’s money, workers’ money. If you have a fiduciary duty to improve performance, do you not try to do something about it?”
Osafo-Maafo pointed out that the differences in opinion between SSNIT and UTAG are healthy for stakeholder engagement, stating, “We just have differences in opinion and how we arrive there, and that in itself is healthy because it means we engage all stakeholders and come to a solution.”
The SSNIT boss also highlighted the operational improvements made since 2017, including faster benefit processing times and resolving legacy issues, arguing that these achievements demonstrate the current board and management’s effectiveness.
“The efficiency of SSNIT operations is much better, and the magnitude of the legacy issues that are all being resolved are a few achievements of the current board and management,” he added.