The Social Security and National Insurance Trust, SSNIT has begun the process to replace the existing biometric cards with the National Identity Cards by the National Identification Authority.

This is an initiative to synchronize the country’s identity system.

The project when successful will capture details of pension contributors as well as beneficiaries onto the National Identity Card to be used as proof of citizenship.

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According to SSNIT, persons who are registered and issued with the National ID Card will not be given an SSNIT card when they become contributors.

Speaking to JoyBusiness, Director General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori Tenkorang indicated that management has decided to stop issuing the card in order to help with the synchronization process.

“This is actually something that has been well thought out and about taking off. We have stopped issuing biometric card as part of the process but we will gradually phase it out,” he said.

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He made the disclosure after two institutions, Trust Hospital Company Limited and Labadi Beach Hotel presented dividends of about GHS500, 000 and GHS1 million respectively for the year 2017 to the Trust Fund.

Dr Tenkorang also announced that SSNIT made a profit of more than five per cent from its investments in the country last year.

“Generally, the trust’s investment portfolio recorded a return of 5.77 per cent in 2017 as compared to the loss it recorded in 2016 a significant success above the targeted 3.25 per cent,” he added.

This is the first time the Trust Hospital Limited is paying a dividend to the shareholder since it was incorporated in 2010 as a limited liability company.