Calls for my dismissal not fair at all – SSNIT boss Osafo-Maafo laments

Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo, the Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has described calls by a section of the public for his dismissal as “unfair”.

The calls for his dismissal, together with his management, come in the wake of the controversy arriving out of the intended sale of the Trust’s 60% stake in four alleged underperforming hotels.

According to the son of the senior advisor to the President, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, it was necessary to sell of the hotels to improve performance due to brighten the financial fortunes of the Trust.

“If you have a duty to improve performance, you do not try to do something about it? Is that a real cardinal sin? In looking to improve the performance of underperforming assets, I don’t think that is wrong,” he has noted.

He added that, “you don’t manage a portfolio without doing anything; I think something has to be done.”

Mr. Osafo-Maafo’s says despite the labour unions’ disagreement with the involvement of the private sector in bettering the Trust’s performance, he says it would be proper to have a stakeholder engagement on the varying opinions they share.

“I don’t think that it is ever possible that everyone will have the same solution in mind. Some people philosophically oppose the simple fact that private investors have been brought in; you can never change their minds.

“Again, when we look at the operational improvements that have been brought in, the efficiency of SSNIT operations has been much better. Because of that, the university teachers think it is the wrong procedure. I think that it is not fair enough,” he stated on Accra-based Citi FM Monday, July 15, 2025.

Organised Labour declared an indefinite nationwide strike over the National Pensions Regulatory Authority’s (NPRA) approval allowing SSNIT to sell a 60% stake in four hotels to Food and Agriculture Minister, Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel.

The University Teachers Association (UTAG), and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) demanded SSNIT management’s resignation and its board’s dissolution.

The development has necessitated calls for an increment of non-government stakeholders and less involvement of government in the affairs of SSNIT.

However, Kofi Osafo-Maafo maintained that the demands were not fair, and indicated his willingness to engage all interest parties on the best way to sell the hotels.

“We are going to go back to the drawing board. This is an issue of stakeholder engagement, we’ve terminated the process and the stakeholders and ourselves will sit down and see how we will progress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Organised Labour has announced the suspension of its Monday strike against SSNIT’s move to offload the 60% stake and asked workers to return to work on Tuesday.

This decision was announced by the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Yaw Baah, after an emergency meeting on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Labour gave SSNIT a one-month ultimatum to address all their concerns or else, advise themselves.

Source:onuaonline.com