The Obuasi West Member of Parliament, Kwaku Kwarteng has asked Parliament to drag the Ministers of Finance and Employment before it over the refusal to release the tier two pension funds of public sector workers.
Twelve labour groups embarked on an indefinite strike on Wednesday, October 22 to protest the non-payment of their pension funds into a privately managed account.
Though the strike has been called off after a series of negotiation between the two parties, the Obuasi legsilator is insisting the ministers to explain why they failed to pay those funds.
[contextly_sidebar id=”pCkcUFmFpGl0kULKuE1vwknfPDG2UgBc”]The Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Laud Senanu earlier disclosed that funds accrued on the tier two pension funds for aggrieved workers yielded Ghc1.6 billion.
According to him, the amount comprises contributions from both public and private sector workers.
Though government insists it has not spent monies deducted from the salaries of workers for their tier two pension scheme as alleged by some critics.
The Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee emphasized the need for government to render accounts on the pension funds to the house.
“This is against the law, it is against sub-section three of the NPRA. Parliament ought to invite the Minister to explain the default. The NPRA says it is investing these funds into Treasury bills. Now if the monies have not been released it means workers will not get the benefit of the returns on these investments. Government ought to be explaining not just why it has not just released the funds but also whether it intends to compensate farmers for the next return on the investment.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana