WHY IS IT THAT GOVERNMENT IS NOT PAYING SSNIT TO IT OWN CASUAL WORKERS? SSNIT FAILED TO ANSWER GNACOPS............

SSNIT FAILED TO ANSWER GNACOPS

Some members of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) have revealed that the court threats and sabotage-nature of SSNIT officials is leading  to the fold-up of many private schools who offer affordable and quality education to the Nation. The Council can confirm that this unfriendly attitude of some SSNIT staff have made most private schools  unable to employ the required number of staff to teach the students in their schools.

This revelation was made during a stakeholders' forum with private school owners and SSNIT Officials in Atebubu in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.
Until this revelation, many proprietors and proprietresses have for a long time been hauled to court with SSNIT officials and made to pay huge court fines just for delaying payments and penalties.

In a country where Government announces that the private sector is the engine of every economy's growth, the question of GNACOPS to the government is WHICH POLICY OF  GOVERNMENT in this country has ever put in place any measure to protect private sector operators?
The writer of this piece has been battling with SSNIT court fines and penalties since 2013 during which  SSNIT, inhumanely remanded him in a Sunyani police cell.

Concerns of GNACOPS is quite simple.
Much as the constitution does not make room for excuses,  it makes room for negotiations in certain cases like the cases of private schools. Proprietors employ casual teachers who work for just a quarter of the year or sometimes, just a few months and leave without any notice.

Sometimes these workers go on holidays and don't return to post.
 When all these happen, the mere fact that the proprietor is not able to give notice to SSNIT automatically means the proprietors must pay to SSNIT all the months that the person was not even at post.

The question of GNACOPS is ''Who regulates the regulator?'

Various governments have engaged in  propaganda related to which government employed many of our unemployed youth, citing
groups like GYEEDA, NABCO,  NYE etc...

The question by a frustrated member of GNACOPS at a forum which shocked SSNIT officials who had no clue when it came to answering his question was
WHY IS IT THAT GOVERNMENT IS NOT PAYING SSNIT CONTRIBUTIONS TO ITS OWN CASUAL WORKERS?

SSNIT Officials' lame answer to this harmless question is that they  are still talking to the government about it?

Our other question is, since when SSNIT has been talking to government about this issue that they  cannot come to a conclusion.

Is the solution to jump on private operators who have helped in reducing massive unemployment, a move out of frustration? GNACOPS needs answers to these basic questions.

The private schools have  permanent staff and we pay their SSNIT contributions,  pay their children's fees, renew their health insurance cards and feed the entire staff in addition to other benefits and their monthly salaries.

 The least staff a basic private school employs is about 15 and if the same school has buses you can just imagine.
There are over 22,000 private schools in this country. Imagine, if each of them employs about 15 staff?

In conclusion, I urge  government and SSNIT to allow private school owners to pay SSNIT contribution for  permanent staff while casual staff,who will eventually  graduate to permanent status are exempted from  SSNIT contributions.

Government must stop collapsing private schools. They must stop the threats. They must stop prosecuting our members. They must stop the witch-hunting.

STORY BY
DESMOND Suaka (0542503526)
Pastor NELSON Aho (0247795261)