Busua (W/R), May 16, GNA - The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) collected 1.6 trillion cedis in contributions to its fund in 2004, exceeding its target by nine per cent, its Director-General, Mr Kwasi Osei, has said.

Mr Osei said the Trust also processed 70 per cent of retirees' benefits, using its own in-house data.

Mr. Osei said this at the opening of this year's operations conference of the Trust at Busua in the Ahanta West on Monday. The conference which is on the theme: "40 years of social security in Ghana - Achieving our corporate vision through effective management of the branch offices," is being attended by about 80 participants, including Departmental Managers, as well as Area and Branch managers. With the introduction of Members Account Unit, SSNIT hopes to build accurate and up to date data on all contributors to the social security scheme, Mr. Osei said.

He said the scheme had made significant impact on the country and received recognition abroad.

Mr. Kwaku Osei-Bimpong, head of public relations section of the Trust, said the long delays in the processing of benefits would soon be a thing of the past.