Tema, March 4, GNA - Mrs Rita Agyeman-Budu, Presiding Judge at the Tema District Magistrates' Court, on Thursday advised employers to honour the payment of the contribution of their employees to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). This, she said, would help SSNIT to make swift payments to beneficiaries of the trust after their retirement from active service. Mrs Agyeman-Budu gave the advice when some heads of private companies appeared before her to answer charges of failing to pay SSNIT contributions on behalf of their workers and failing to pay penalties on those payments.

The National Pensions Act, 2009, Act 766 clothes SSNIT with the power to prosecute defaulting establishments, which failed to pay contributions, and penalties, as well as those which did not submit their contribution reports, or did not register either their companies or employees.

Edmund Oppong, Managing Director of Life Shipping Limited, who failed to furnish report on workers' contributions between March 2009 and February 2011, was served with criminal summons by SSNIT to appear before the court.

At its sitting the court was informed by counsel of the accused person that his client had since submitted the Report to the Trust. After pleading guilty to the charge, the court convicted the accused person and imposed a fine of 100 Ghana Cedis on him, or in default 30 days imprisonment.

On February 24, however, two companies, Innona Holdings Limited and Narh Global Services Limited, which had defaulted in paying workers' SSNIT contributions, paid more than GH¢80,000 to SSNIT after being served with criminal summons to appear before the court. Two other institutions, Brotherhood Primary School and Silver Lane Limited, which failed to furnish SSNIT with Employers' Contribution Reports, did so after being served with criminal summons to appear before the court.