GEPA fails to pay ¢517k SSNIT for contract staff – A-G’s report

The audited financial statements of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority for the two years ending 31 December 2020, have revealed that GEPA failed to pay a total sum of GH¢517,520.16 as the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions of its contract staff.

Section 63 (1) of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 776) states: “An employer shall remit thirteen-and-a-half per centum out of the total contributions of eighteen and a half per centum on behalf of the worker to the first-tier mandatory social security scheme within fourteen days after the end of each month to the Trust”.

Also, Section 64 of the same Act further requires that subject to subsection (2) if a contribution is not paid within the specified period a sum equal to three per centum per month of the contribution payable shall be added to the contribution as a penalty.

Contrary to the above quoted Sections of the National Pensions Act, however, the 2021 report of the Auditor-General said the management of GEPA “did not make regular contributions on behalf of the contract workers to SSNIT during the period under review”.

The report said the management’s refusal to perform its obligation under the National Pensions Act, accounted for this anomaly.

It noted that continuous default of statutory payments would attract penalties which would affect the cash flow of the Authority, adding that legal actions can also be taken against the Authority by the affected employees.

“We recommended that the management, with immediate effect, should settle all outstanding SSNIT payments of all affected staff. Measures should be put in place to ensure that monthly payments of statutory deductions are paid within 14 days of the ensuing month to avoid penalties”, the report said.

The management of GEPA, in its response, said “they are investigating this issue and will ensure appropriate payments are done to SSNIT in favour of the affected staff immediately”.