Accra, Mar. 10, GNA- The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is to pay workers contributions direct to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), instead of giving them to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to pay.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, announced this when he moved a motion for the approval of 9.87 trillion cedis for other government obligations for the year 2004.

The amount, which is the highest single estimate approved in this year's budget, was to be used for cover 2.456 trillion cedis domestic debt, 3.658 trillion cedis external debt, 1.475 trillion cedis transfers to households, comprising pensions, gratuities, social security and National Health Insurance.

Others are the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), 810.5 billion cedis, Road Fund, 607.7 billion cedis, District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), 787.2 billion cedis and the Petroleum Related Fund, 74.6 billion cedis.

Mr. Agyemang-Manu told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that with regards to the 12.5 per cent workers' contribution to SSNIT, what used to pertain was an arrangement in which managements of MDAs received 100 per cent of their salary allocations and were expected to deduct the 12.5 per cent and pay it to SSNIT on behalf of workers.

"At the close of year 2003 our checks revealed that several MDAs were in arrears of workers SSNIT contributions and some have even covered up their anomalies with computer break down and other tactics," he said.

"We have therefore, decided that beginning from this year, we will only advance moneys that will meet workers' salaries to the management of the MDAs and pay their SSNIT contributions directly from the ministry," he said.

This he said would stem the rampant delays and anomalies related to the payment of workers contributions to SSNIT and also ensure an effective administration of the SSNIT contributions.

Mr. Agyemang-Manu said this new arrangement of paying workers SSNIT contributions would begin when the Appropriation Bill, 2004, which is currently before Parliament, was passed into law.

The Parliamentary Committee on Finance in its report on the budget estimates for other government obligations gave its support to the new system of paying workers SSNIT contributions as proposed by the government, saying that would alleviate the problems retired employees of government institutions often faced in collecting their pensions.

Mr. Modestus Ahiable, NDC-Ketu North cautioned that the new system of paying SSNIT contributions as proposed by the Ministry of Finance should be effectively managed to ensure that it did not fuel the existing "cold war" between government and the Workers' Unions over salaries and wages.

"In the event where the Ministry is not able to pay workers' contribution on time we can expect a more nasty situation than what happens between workers and their managements for the same reason," he said.