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Join pension scheme to insure your income…SSNIT PRO to self-employed people
The Public Relations Officer of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Mr Charles Nii Akwei Garshon has encouraged self-employed people in the country to join the pension scheme to insure their income before they retire.
According to him, many self-employed persons in the country are not on the scheme, adding that “over the years, we have focused on salaried workers leaving these people out.”
He said SSNIT Pension Scheme was a basic pension scheme that was necessary for workers in both the formal and informal sector and hence SSNIT was educating more people to join through the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED).
Mr Garshon was speaking during a training workshop organised for the media in Koforidua to school them on the activities of SSNIT and the SEED initiative.
Mr Garshon indicated that because the focus of his outfit has been on salaried workers for long time, only 38,000 workers were signed unto the pension scheme.
He stated that there was the need for more people to join the pension scheme to enable them insure their income and earn monthly salaries when they retire.
The PRO stated that most of the time, some retirees especially the self-employed found themselves in outmost poverty due to an unplanned pension scheme to insure their income when they were in active service.
He said SSNIT was poised to reducing the canker of old-age poverty in the country among such persons who sometimes over-rely on their children as a source of pension income and reiterated the need to reverse the trend and expand the basic pension scheme to such people.
“A time comes when an individual would not be fit to work and in a country where a lot of people depend on family and friends, there is a need for us to expand the basic society security scheme coverage to everyone. That is why this year we have rolled out massive campaign,” she said.
He said the SEED initiative would lessen the burden on government with social intervention programme like the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty and added “once people are getting some income from SSNIT, government can redirect such interventions to other places.”
He also revealed that there were instances where people received invalidity pension after they have been declared by medical doctors as not fit to work and advised the self-employed to join the scheme to insure their income in moments where the unfortunate happens, adding that they would be covered.
Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
The Dzidula Pink Foundation, a new organisation dedicated to cancer awareness, early detection, and patient support, has been officially launched in Accra, with a passionate call for national commitment to fighting the disease. The launch event, held last week Friday, carried the theme: “Beyond the diagnosis: A future of restoration, care and courage.”
Speaking at the event, Madam Abena Brigidi, founder and CEO of Nimed Capital Limited, emphasised that cancer remains one of the most devastating health challenges facing families across the country. “Cancer does not discriminate—it affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It drains families emotionally and financially, and behind every statistic is a human story and a future suddenly thrown into uncertainty,” she said.
Sharing her personal encounters with cancer, having lost both her husband and father to the disease, Madam Brigidi highlighted the emotional, financial, and physical scars left behind. “I stand here not just as a speaker, but as a witness to what cancer can take away,” she stated. “I have watched loved ones fight bravely, and I have felt the deep pain that loss leaves behind.”
She stressed that awareness and early detection are critical to reducing deaths, noting that many Ghanaians still lack access to proper screening, reliable information, and adequate treatment. She appealed to healthcare professionals, corporate institutions, policymakers, the media, and the general public to join hands in the fight. “Early detection saves lives. Your support today can lead to someone’s healing tomorrow,” she said.
Madam Brigidi further called for collective responsibility to sustain the foundation’s mission. “To our medical professionals, we need your expertise. To corporate partners, your resources. To the media, your voice. To policymakers, your support. And to the public, your compassion,” she urged. She also insisted that breast cancer awareness should not be limited to annual campaigns, saying, “Breast cancer awareness must not be seasonal.”
Mrs Diana Fafa Gozo, founder of the Dzidula Pink Foundation, shared her own cancer journey, describing the shock of diagnosis, the fear that followed, and the difficult path through treatment. Her experience transformed her pain into purpose and inspired her to create a foundation to ensure no cancer patient walks alone.
Mrs Gozo explained that many patients struggle not only with treatment costs but also with emotional resilience. She outlined the foundation’s initiatives, which include awareness and early detection campaigns, patient support funds, community outreach, and survival support circles. “This foundation is my offering of gratitude, courage, and compassion and a reminder that no one should walk the cancer journey alone,” she concluded.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) says it will deploy teams of Public Health Officers, members of its Sanitation Taskforce, and labourers, including sweepers and janitors, across all sub-metros to support the third National Sanitation Day exercise.
It explained that these teams will be equipped with waste collection trucks, tippers, and other tools to help with desilting, refuse collection, and transporting waste to approved disposal sites.
The AMA reminded residents that failing to comply with the sanitation directive or refusing to participate in communal labour is an offence.
It said offenders risk a fine of up to 100 penalty units, imprisonment between 30 days and six months, or both, with repeat offenders liable to additional daily penalties.
It urged all residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants, and businesses to actively participate in the exercise.
The AMA said it counts on everyone’s collective responsibility to keep Accra clean, liveable, and resilient, especially as the city approaches Christmas and the New Year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
