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Workers should be able to afford a house when going on retirement – GNAT General Secretary
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, (GNAT), Thomas Musah, has said the general income situation of all workers in the country should be looked at.
He indicated that most workers earn low salaries which eventually affect the quantum of the pension benefits they are given when in retirement.
Speaking at the GNAT Investment Forum held at GNAT Hall on Wednesday, he said “It has become very necessary that the issues of income in this country should be looked at. We cannot run away from the issue of basic salary.
“That is why we are organizing this forum to look at, what can be done to ensure that when workers are retiring they are better. There is one thing that we have been asking over the years, at least, if for nothing at all, when the worker is retiring he should be able to afford a two bedroom house.”
Taking his turn, the Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, said the scheme is the best pension system workers can get anywhere.
He explained that the management of SSNIT has been carrying out indexation to meet the rising rate of inflation.
This, he said, is part of the reasons the scheme is best for workers.
“SSNIT undertakes indexation every year and the indexation matches inflation. SSNIT is aware of that and so we compensate for inflation.
“I will urge people not to throw the baby out with the bad water. The narrative is that SSNIT is not good, people connived with their employers not to pay their SSNIT, but the SSNIT scheme is the best that you can ever get anywhere else as far as pension is concerned, if you don’t join to contribute you are harming yourself,” he noted.
He further indicated that the management is going to roll out a programme to educate the people on the need to join SSNIT.
“We are going to rollout a programme to get people to come and join SSNIT because it is the best thing they can do for themselves,” he said.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
