Pension Scheme for the informal sector in the offing

Kumasi, April 2, GNA - Mr. T. A. Bediako, Chairman of the Pension Reform Implementation Committee (PRIC) has urged associations in the informal sector to contribute toward the establishment of a national pension scheme. He said currently, employees in the informal sector of the economy constituted 80 per cent of the working population. Mr. Bediako was addressing members of identifiable associations from the informal sector at a sensitization programme organized in Kumasi on Wednesday. Chief Musa Adams, a member of the committee, stressed the need for the various associations in the informal sector to come together to provide the seed money for the scheme to be managed by a board of trustees. Mrs. Felicia Owusu Bonsu, another member, who is representing public sector reforms, held that the proposed scheme had worked successfully in African countries, including Kenya, Botswana, South Africa and Senegal. She said government recognizes the importance of a pension scheme for the informal sector and hoped that the PRIC would intensify its efforts towards the establishment of the scheme throughout the country. The participants appealed to the government to support the implementation of the scheme to ensure its success. 2 April 09