Govt’s handling of pensions worrying — Nana Akufo-Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 2016 Presidential Candidate of  the New Patriotic Party,(NPP) has said it is “worrying”  the manner in which President John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress government is handling pension funds of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian workers.

He made this known when the leadership of the National Democratic Party (NDP), led by National Chairman, Dr. Josiah Aryeh, called on him at his Nima residence to congratulate him on his victory in the October 18 presidential primary of the NPP. 

According to Akufo-Addo, the current dispute surrounding the tier-2 pension funds was the result of the “opaque manner in which these matters are being dealt with by the NDC government.” 

“It is something very worrying for all of us, especially for us in the NPP, because we were the ones that put in place the legislation governing the whole pension structure,” he stressed

It will be recalled that in 2008, the NPP, under the leadership of President Kufuor, introduced Act 766  (the National Pensions Act), to ensure that every Ghanaian worker, including the majority in the informal sector, upon retiring, would be entitled to a pension. 

The NPP government, at the time, knowing fully well that pension from SSNIT was not enough, through Act 766, introduced the tier-two system, which requires  five-per cent deductions from monthly salaries, which are to be managed by private fund managers. 

Nana Akufo-Addo shared the concerns of Ghanaian workers on how pension funds were being handled by the NDC government and urged all stakeholders to “work together to get a good deal for the working people of our country.”

Governance, he said, “is about the future we prepare for our children, how we improve the welfare and cater for the wellbeing of the people today, creating opportunities for those who can work and giving them the assurance that even when they retire, there will be a decent pension awaiting them for all their toil and sweat.”