Ho, Feb. 26, GNA - Mr Senyo Tsama, Volta Regional Director of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) on Wednesday said diligence rather than systems failure accounted for the perceived delays in certain processes of the Trust. He said the Trust, which hold money in trust for contributors must at all times be thorough in its data storage and claims management processes, to prevent and detect misrepresentation. Mr Tsama who was addressing a meeting of the Ho branch of the Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) said there was a referable evidence of "how low people could go to deprive dependants of their due claims through unimaginable posturing".

He said the Trust regarded nomination of beneficiaries and changes thereafter as making wills, and would be meticulous about the process. Mr Tsama urged contributors to call at SSNIT offices periodically to request for statements as a way of tracking their contributions. Mr Gordon Bodza, Volta Regional PSWU Industrial Relations Officer, commended the Trust for taking legal actions against employers who refuse to pay deductions to SSNIT. He said it was the policy of the PSWU to keep its members aware of issues that affected their welfare. The meeting urged President Evans Atta Mills to live up to his promise of tackling issues related to public sector pay as soon as his ministers assumed office.

In a bye-election, Miss Eunice Kodjo and Mr Fred Tamakloe, both of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), were elected as Second Vice-Chairman and Assistant Secretary respectively, while Miss Edem Anyidoho and Felix Adjasoo were also elected as Trustees.