Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has received payments from two subsidiaries - Ghana Agro Foods Company Limited (GAFCO) and the Gulf Consolidated Limited.

The returns were presented at a short ceremony at the SSNIT Headquarters in Accra on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.

The two companies in which SSNIT has stakes with; GAFCO presented GHC400, 000 and Gulf Consolidated Limited submitted a cheque of GHC712, 509 making a total of GHC1.112509 million.

Ghana Agro Food Company Limited

Receiving the payment of shareholder advance from GAFCO, Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang disclosed that it was the first time the company was making any form of payment since 2005.

He observed that it was a good gesture which signifies the commitment of the new management and board of SSNIT to reposition their investments in a bid to ensure that funds are prudently managed.

"What we are about to witness here today is actually historic, because this is the first time that GAFCO is going to make a part payment of a shareholder advance that we gave to the company. This company was invested in by SSNIT back in 2005 and since then we haven't received anything from GAFCO. The new board and management like we said, we are determined to turn some of our investments around and a lot of it starts with making sure that you have strong governance in place, and strong reputation to look out for the interest of the shareholder in this case which is SSNIT," Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang mentioned.

The Board Chair of GAFCO, Professor Joe Amoako Tuffuor in his submission stressed the interest of his outfit in deepening the relationship with SSNIT and other stakeholders of the company.



Professor Amoako Tuffuor admitted that prior to his coming, the state of the company wasn't encouraging and expressed his desire to restructure his outfit.

The Board Chair said, though there is more work to be done in ensuring the company stands on its feet and delivers on its mandate, he is pleased with the progress made so far and pledged to do more in that regard.

The GHC400, 000 presented to SSNIT is in accordance with the 40% equity stake it acquired in the company in 2005.

"For the first time in 13 years, we have put on our cap, seriously, asking ourselves how we can be part of the new Ghana that we are building - planting for food and jobs, opening opportunities and changing the whole investment environment. We have sat down for the past 15-months, looked at all our challenges and most importantly looking at how to move forward. And the only way to move forward is that all shareholders must feel part of the ownership of this enterprise. So we are doing a lot of things and we can assure you that this is just the beginning of what GAFCO could do. And the only way to do this is to restructure things, make some commitments, engage all the other stakeholders and make some rearrangements," the Board Chair explained.

Gulf Consolidated Limited

In addition to the returns received from GAFCO, SSNIT also earned GHC712, 509 as dividend from Gulf Consolidated Company, owners of Gulf House in Accra.

The estate development company according to the Board Chairman, Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah is focused on ensuring the company remains profitable and strong to continue to give dividends to its shareholders.

Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah revealed that since 2009 the amount of dividends that its shareholders have enjoyed has seen a steady rise and consistent returns.

He detailed that out of the GHC1,696, 452 made in 2017, GHC712, 509 is the share of SSNIT making it the highest beneficiary shareholder.

In presenting the money to the SSNIT Director General, the Gulf Consolidated Limited Board Chair revealed plans by his outfit to utilise the remaining 3.5 acres of land for the construction of a car park, residential apartment and office complex.

"We have onboard some proposed development of the undeveloped space that we have at the Gulf House. We know Gulf House has a big land almost about 6 acres and about 3.5 acres is undeveloped. The Director-General, the company continues to explore all appropriate means to expand and grow our core business in order to increase shareholders value. In view of the above, the board has approved that the remaining of the land should be developed into three major properties. The first being a three multi-storey car park with two basements; the second a two-block residential apartment made up of 12 storey levels and; third is a 10-storey office block," Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah detailed.

In his response, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang expressed satisfaction with the developments and consistent progress by the estate development company.

The SSNIT Director-General used the occasion to underscore the essence of making good investments, stressing on the importance of ensuring that pensioners get their due.

He said, "SSNIT has a lot of obligations that it has to meet. Our pensioners rely on us for good pensions and our investments have to step up to the plate because the scheme has matured and our contributions that we collect not enough to pay pensions so we rely on some returns on our investments to make up for the shortfall."