The Deputy Director-General of National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP), Liberia, Mr Nya Twayen has described the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) as a model in the administration of social security in the sub-region.

Mr Nya Twayen, said this during a two-day working visit to SSNIT. He said though the Liberian social security system was given legal status as far back as 1988, the war set the scheme back, hence the need to learn about current trends and best practices on the continent and in his estimation, SSNIT was the best choice.

He indicated that over the past three years, the NASSCORP has been going through reforms to streamline its operations and ensure effectiveness. “Looking around, we saw no better institution than SSNIT to fall on,” he stressed.

“We are here to learn the basics of processing lump sum payments as well as strategies and initiatives to ensure that we provide value to our members. SSNIT has remained vibrant in the face of all the challenges that have emerged over the years and we are very happy for you to share your experience with us” the Deputy Director General said,

Welcoming the team, the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang said even though the Liberian delegation is in Ghana to learn best practices of social security administration, they should also apprise themselves of the challenges SSNIT has gone through.

“It is important we do not pretend there are no challenges. Let us acknowledge these challenges with a view to finding better and sustainable solutions. I am keen to share our journey with you so that you do not repeat the mistakes we have made, I expect you to build a better mousetrap”.

As Africans, we must continue to learn from each other because our challenges are peculiar and in situations where we find one of us has a solution that works we need to adopt and adapt so we can deliver the value our people expect of us.

The Head of Legal of NASSCORP, Michael Cyril Itoka was full of praise for the legal regime backing SSNIT’s operations. “In our jurisdiction, there is no enforcement clause in our legal framework. What happens is that the state absorbs defaulters’ payments and that debt becomes difficult to retrieve sometimes,” he added.

He said in as much as they have learnt about the challenges of SSNIT, the positives far outweigh the negatives and ‘we shall incorporate all those positives into our reform processes.

The five-member team were taken through topics such as processing and determination of survivor’s lump sum benefits, challenges and way forward, types of benefits, the law on social security in Ghana, the formula for calculating benefits among others.

The National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) of Liberia was established in 1975 and operated as a provident fund until it was given a legal status in 1988. Reforms for the sector started in 2006 when the newly elected government of Madam Sirleaf Johnson took power.
The delegation will depart Accra on Wednesday, 15th August 2018.