Pensioners in the Volta Region, particularly those in Ho, are unhappy with the handling of their contributions by the Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

According to the pensioners, the losses being recorded by SSNIT and its board as a result of bad investment had worsened their plight.

In line with this, the Ho District Pensioners’ Association recently passed a vote of no confidence in members of the SSNIT Board shortly after the Board appeared before the Public Account Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Wednesday, 19th March, 2014.

A petition of the Association, which was copied to BUSINESS GUIDE, said “the board as currently constituted should be dissolved immediately and replaced with persons who can protect their interest and welfare.”

The Association stated the statements of the SSNIT Board on Wednesday, 19th March 2014 confirmed the claims made against them over the years.

Making reference to BUSINESS GUIDE’s report on the sitting, they said that PAC uncovered “bad investments which the officials themselves accepted as being fraudulent, resulting in the loss of thousands of Ghana Cedis.”

It was revealed that “SSNIT gave GH¢572,000.00 to Sterling Investment Security, a private financial institution in July 2005 to invest in 91-day treasury bill, which was expected to yield GH¢22,000.00 every three months, but both the seed capital and the interest on the money had gone waste because the company had been sold to new investors.”

Concerns were also raised about the continuous losses posted by Golden Beach Hotels, which is being run by SSNIT.

SSNIT’s investment in the Ghana Agro Food Company Limited-GAFCO was questioned by PAC, which thought that they did not make economic sense, among others.

The Chairman of PAC, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu recently remarked “we cannot afford to lose such monies belonging to Ghanaian workers to bad investments.”

The petition, which was signed by S.K. Agboah, Secretary and Victoria Adzowu, Chairperson, explained that the SSNIT Pensions Act 766 has completely removed government financial support or obligation to Pensions.

Pensioners after 1972 are still paid benefits and salaries from dividends/interests on their invested contributions.

In view of that, they called on government to fully support PAC’s report and recommendations to save the pensioners in the country.