Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has dismissed claims that the Trust procured diaries and calendars for over ¢72 million.
Dr. John Ofori Tenkorang told Raymond Acquah on the Upfront Programme on MultiTv that SSNIT spent ¢191,000 on the 2017 calendars.
He added that the Trust only spent about ¢345,000 on these expenditure items.
“SSNIT buys these calendars and they are basically operational documents in the sense that there are dates that are important in our monthly business calendar,” Dr Tenkorang said.
The media space has been awash with claims that the Trust is once again engaged in frivolous spending with the latest being the purchase of some diaries and calendar at an exorbitant ¢72 million.
The Trust made headlines for all the wrong reasons in August when it was revealed that it spent $72 million to procure a faulty software from 2012 to 2016. The contract, awarded in 2012, was to automate processes at the Trust.
The software was to provide superior services to SSNIT customers, reduce member enrolment cycle through forms, provide effective reporting solution, achieve real-time processing of contribution reports and reduce benefit processing time.
The initial contract sum was $34 million but the Trust ended up spending more within the period of four years.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) uncovered the fraud during investigations into Head of SSNIT’s Management Information Systems, Caleb Afaglo’s crucial role in the controversial $72 million digitization contract.
Dr. John Ofori Tenkorang, Director General SSNIT
EOCO interdicted him for presenting fake documents for the top job as its investigation revealed that Mr Afaglo did not have a doctorate degree as he claimed. He neither has a masters’ degree nor a first degree, EOCO said.
Regarding the latest allegations, however, Dr Tenkorang said there is no cause to worry as things are being done with the due procedure being followed.
He explained that contract for the dairies being procured for 2018, “has just finished going through tender,” stating emphatically that they have not been printed.
According to him, no money has been paid to those supposed to purchase the calendars but he confirmed that contract for the printers was approved last week.
He clarified that the entity paid ¢177,460 for the dairies for 2017. The cost for this year’s production is ¢169,023, Dr. Tenkorang added.
He also assured that the Trust was retrieving all the outstanding debt owed it by institutions like the Intercity STC.
According to him, ISTC informed the Trust efforts to revamp the once enviable transport organization by former President John Mahama with the acquisition of some 50 coaches.
But ISTC assured that with the acquisition and other revenue generation moves the company was pursuing it will soon be in a better position to make good its obligation towards the Trust.