SOCIAL SECURITY AND NATIONAL INSURANCE TRUST
SOCIAL SECURITY AND NATIONAL INSURANCE TRUST
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Scheme is partially funded, hence there is always the need to invest the funds prudently for maximum returns. The principles that guide these investments are yield, safety, liquidity, diversification, capital preservation, time frame and overall investment returns. A limited number of the Trust’s investments also focus on social benefits apart from profitability
The Trust is the largest single institutional investor on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the main driver of the development of the Capital Market in Ghana. SSNIT currently holds a significant number of shares listed on the GSE with twenty-two (22) out of the thirty-seven (37) listed companies. SSNIT’s holdings on the Ghana Stock Exchange was GH¢2.7 billion as at June 2018
UNLISTED EQUITY INVESTMENTS
In addition to the stock market investments, the Trust has investments in fifty-four (54) unlisted companies
SECTORS
The Trust’s equity investments are spread across the following key sectors of the Ghanaian economy:
SSNIT’s investments in the companies under these sectors is also an employment generation strategy through which membership of the scheme can be increased.
As far back as 1974, the Trust committed funds into real estate development. The focus was to provide residential accommodation for the contributing public.
The initial effort was low keyed. However, this was pursued more vigorously by allocating more funds to housing development from 1987 to 1988. The vision was a long term investment which was to form one of the pillars for financing the pension scheme.
The principle underlying this vision was to ensure that some of the investment package was geared towards affording social benefit to workers while they were still working. It was also to ensure that workers got decent and affordable flats to live in and serve the country which will equally ensure income generation into the Social Security fund for the sustenance of the scheme.
The houses constructed by SSNIT ranged from bedsitters to one-and two bedroom flats. Later, SSNIT modified the building plans to include two and three-bedroom detached and semi-detached houses.
Allocation of the houses to workers were not directly to beneficiary workers, but to their various employers through the Allocation Committees set up.
The Allocation Committees comprised SSNIT Workers (Identifiable Bodies), Employers and other related institutions. This system was to ensure that, rent payment was strictly adhered to and paid promptly to SSNIT.
Even with uneconomic rents that were charged and no rent advance demanded, some residents accumulated rents to the extent that, strategies had to be adopted by management to achieve the desired returns on the investments made in the housing units.
SSNIT on a number of occasions, had to resort to prosecutions to collect the rent arrears.
Since this investment was capital intensive and returns were slow in coming as expected, the Trust adopted the policy of direct sale to the beneficiary organizations and sitting tenants to recoup the investments made.
In total, 7,168 housing units were developed nationwide with 98 percent sold to mostly salaried workers.
Examples of Workers Housing Projects developed by SSNIT are the Sakumono, Dansoman, Adenta, Ashongman in Accra; Asuoyeboa in Kumasi; Adweso and Effiduase in Koforidua; Sunyani; Fuo and Lamashegu in Tamale; Bolga; Wa; Ho, Elimina in Cape Coast; Anaji in Takoradi and Tema Communities 5 and 3.
Through these housing developments, the Trust opened up townships with infrastructural access by providing amenities such as roads and drains, electricity, street lights, water, recreational centres, markets, shops and car parks in all the SSNIT housing estates.
The Trust from 2008 to 2016, partnered local and foreign companies as well as the Government of Ghana to develop housing estates mostly in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions. These developments are expected to deliver 6,143 housing units when fully completed for sale.
The Trust’s on-going projects are listed below:
| No. | COMPANY | LOCATION | % HOLDING |
| 1 | West Hills Ridge Ltd. | Dunkonah | 80.00 |
| 2 | Switchback Developers Ltd. | Switchback Road, Accra | 70.00 |
| 3 | Trust F-Line Properties Ltd. | Sakumono, Accra | 70.00 |
| 4 | RSS Developers Ltd. | Sakumono and Klagon, Accra | 60.00 |
| 5 | GoG Affordable Housing | Borteyman, Accra | – |
| 6 | GoG Affordable Housing | Asokore-Mampong, Kumasi | – |
Background
The Government of Ghana Affordable Housing Project commenced in 2005 under President J. A. Kufuor, with the objective of providing accommodation for low to middle-income workers and also to build the capacity of local contractors among others. Implementation of the project stalled in 2010.
The government through the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) engaged SSNIT to complete the remaining Affordable Housing projects.
The SSNIT Board of Trustees approved to take over and complete the Affordable Housing project at Asokore Mampong, Kumasi on March 25, 2014.
Takeover by SSNIT
The project was handed over to SSNIT on November 12, 2015, with blocks of flats at different stages of completion ranging from foundation to roofing level. In 2017, the new Board of Trustees under the Chairmanship of Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, took steps to fast-track the completion of the then abandoned project in line with the President’s commitment to providing affordable housing for Ghanaians.
Currently
The estate, named OSEI TUTU II HOUSING ESTATES, is made up of 1,027 units (91 blocks) comprising 26 shops, 336 one-bedroom, 691 two-bedroom. All the blocks have been named using Adinkra symbols to reflect the culture and traditions of the Asante Kingdom. The gated community, named after His Majesty Osei Tutu II, consists of 91 blocks of 1-bedroom and 2-bedrooms flats, set on a well-landscaped environment.
The Osei Tutu II Housing Estate has:
Sales
The housing units are now available for sale.
SSNIT has also transformed the ambassadorial area skyline with buildings such as the World Trade Centre – Accra, Pyramid Tower, Ridge Tower, Heritage Tower, and others.
SSNIT has ten commercial high-rise properties and six office complexes. The commercial properties are listed below.
SSNIT’s Commercial Properties
| NO | BUILDING | LOCATION | % HOLDING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
|
100 | ||
| 2 |
|
|
100 | ||
| 3 |
|
|
100 | ||
| 4 | World Trade Centre |
|
100 | ||
| 5 | Round House |
|
100 | ||
| 6 | Trust Tower | Adabraka, Accra | 100 | ||
| 7 | Okofo House | Adabraka, Accra | 100 | ||
| 8 | Accra Industrial Area (AIA) | Industrial Area, Accra | 100 | ||
| 9 | SSNIT Emporium | Airport City, Accra | 100 | ||
| 10 |
|
Tamale | 100 | ||
| 11 | Adum Office Complex | Adum, Kumasi | 100 | ||
| 12 | Asafo Office Complex | Asafo, Kumasi | 100 | ||
| 13 | Sunyani Office Complex | Sunyani | 100 | ||
| 14 | Bolga Office Complex | Bolga | 100 | ||
| 15 | Koforidua Office Complex | Koforidua | 100 | ||
| 16 | Takoradi Office Complex | Takoradi | 100 |
Population explosion in the various tertiary institutions came with its attendant lack of residential facilities for students. Government in consultation with SSNIT decided to provide hostel facilities at the various campuses to relieve the institutions of the acute accommodation shortfall prevailing at the time. SSNIT therefore provided hostels at the following campuses:
| LOCATION | NO. OF ROOMS | NO. OF BEDS |
| University of Ghana, Legon | 990 | 2,721 |
| KNUST, Kumasi | 272 | 554 |
| University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast | 144 | 318 |
| University College of Education | 144 | 369 |
| UDS, Navrongo | 36 | 144 |
| UDS, Nyankpala-Tamale | 42 | 144 |
To preserve the value of the properties and ensure the comfort of the students, Ghana Hostels Limited, a wholly owned company of SSNIT was incorporated in 2006, to manage the hostels.
In addition to the equity investments in the Energy Sector, the Trust in the year 2011, decided to support Government’s effort in providing adequate energy for industrial and domestic usage. Thus, the Trust invested in a 126 megawatts power plant through its wholly owned subsidiary, Cenit Energy Limited. This was to diversify the investment portfolio, reduce risk and support the Ghanaian economy.
| COMPANY | HOLDING |
| Cenit Energy | 100.00 |
| Goil Ghana Ltd. | 18.52 |
| Total Petroleum Ghana Ltd. | 2.61 |
| Tullow Oil | 0.22 |
SSNIT being perfectly aware that education, employment and health are the pivots that any healthy Social Security Scheme thrives on, constructed health centres to cater for the health needs of the society.
These health centres could be found at Amasaman (Greater Accra Region); Larteh (Eastern Region); Akatsi (Volta Region); Anyan Abaasa (Central Region); Sefwi Wiawso (Western Region) and Dominase (Ashanti Region).
These health centres after they had been built were donated to the community for either the Ministry of Health or other health institutions to operate at a small fee.
The Trust Hospital (100% owned by SSNIT), was established in 1992 with the goal to improve access and quality of health services for Ghana. SSNIT has since then extended services of the hospital by to incorporating several Trust Clinics, the Trust Specialist Hospital and the Mother & Child Center under the TTH Group.
Services offered by TTH group of Hospitals and Clinics cover the healthcare needs of children and adults; internal medicine, surgery, ENT, eye, dental, pediatrics, obstetrics, physiotherapy, communicable and non-communicable diseases, DNA services, preventive care and allied services.
With the aim to improving geographical access to healthcare, TTH opened Clinics at Tema, Sakumono, Adenta, Dome, Dansoman and the Pension House, Accra. These six (6) community based Clinics have ultra-modern facilities and experienced health professionals. Three of the Clinics are National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) accredited and clients can access health-care services using their NHIS cards. Efforts are being made to ensure the other three Clinics complete the NHIS accreditation process.
The services offered in all the Clinics include General Outpatient Department (OPD) Service, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Eye Care, Endoscopy and Antenatal Care Services. All the Clinics have visiting Specialists for Obstetrics and Gynecology Services.
These health centres upon completion were donated to the community, i.e. either for the Ministry of Health or other health institutions.
SSNIT has also invested in Hotels to provide temporary accommodation, restaurant services and recreational facilities to businesses and clients. Among these are Labadi Beach Hotel – the first Ghanaian 5-Star hotel managed by Hotel Investment Ghana (HIG), La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort and Busua Beach Resort, all managed by Golden Beach Hotels Limited and Ridge Royal Hotel in Cape Coast.
Additionally, SSNIT has investments in transport service companies such as the Metro Mass Transit Limited which provides safe, reliable and affordable transport services targeted at the lower income segment of the Ghanaian society.
SSNIT’s investments under the Services Sector are shown below:
| NO. | COMPANY | HOLDING (%) |
| 1 | Hotel Investments Gh. Ltd. ( Labadi Beach Hotel ) | 100.00 |
| 2 | Golden Beach Hotels Ltd. ( La Palm, Elmina, Busua ) | 100.00 |
| 3 | Trust Logistics Ltd. | 100.00 |
| 4 | SSNIT Guest House Co. Ltd | 100.00 |
| 5 | The Trust Hospital Ltd. | 100.00 |
| 6 | The Trust Lodge | 100.00 |
| 7 | SIMNET Ghana Ltd. | 85.00 |
| 8 | Intercity STC Coaches Ltd. | 80.00 |
| 9 | Kumasi Abbatoir Co. Ltd. | 53.40 |
| 10 | West Hills Mall Ltd (Dunkonah-Accra) | 40.00 |
| 11 | Accra Abattoir Co. Ltd. | 36.63 |
| 12 | Grand Regency Hotel | 25.00 |
| 13 | Metro Mass Transit Ltd. | 11.67 |
| 14 | Africa World Airlines | 10.00 |
| 15 | Accra City Hotels Ltd (NOVOTEL) | 5.00 |
| 16 | Accra Recreational Complex Ltd | 30.00 |
| 17 | Ridge Royal Hotel Ltd | 92.70 |
Sustainability of the scheme thrives on a healthy working populace who contribute, thus investments towards employment generation is expedient for the Trust. This has informed the Trust in its investment decisions and has led to the provision of health-posts and schools in the rural areas.
All investments with such potential are considered a priority to the Trust. These are Economically Targeted Investments which focus on social benefits apart from profitability.
STUDENTS LOAN
One social investment which should be mentioned is the Students Loan Scheme. This has made it possible for almost 600,000 students go through tertiary education.
SSNIT also built schools to develop the national human resource to improve the standard of living of the people for future employment to increase contributors to the scheme. The SSNIT built-schools are found within the workers‘flats or townships established by SSNIT at the following areas:
A school library was also built for the Sakumono community school to encourage reading and enhance learning.
The Ghana Industrial and Commercial Estate Limited (GICEL) wholly owned by SSNIT, is a private limited liability company located at Weija, Accra, off the Mallam Kasoa Highway. It was incorporated in 1999 to provide industrial and commercial estate facilities with the fullest range of services that offer synergies and complementarities to support the viability and rapid growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
Besides generating financial returns, the national economic objective for investing in industrial estate is to support the growth and development of the SME sector.
Besides generating financial returns, the national economic objective for investing in industrial estate is to support the growth and development of the SME sector.
The Weija industrial and commercial enclave covers 65 acres of land. The area is well laid out with road, sewerage, drainage, water, power systems and car parks.
There are a total of 1,435 units made up of Office Space, Restaurants, Washrooms, Shops, Light Industry Spaces, Garages, Spare Parts Shops and Dressmaking Shops.
All activity categories are set in groups of buildings interspersed with greenry and trees.
The geographic, economic and infrastructural circumstance of the location of the enclave at the time of its establishment did not attract its intended publics.
Today, the facility is very accessible and the locality has become populated and bursting with economic activity with growing demand for facilities in the enclave. The enclave has attracted various small scale businesses engaged in manufacturing, packaging, trading, food vending, dressmaking, financial services and others.
In addressing the car parking nightmare and deficit in the country especially in the areas around the Ridge enclave and the Pension House environs, multi-storey car parks have been constructed by SSNIT.
The Ridge Car Park has seven (7) levels with an 818 vehicle capacity, a washing bay, a restaurant, two (2) elevators, washrooms on each level and shops.
The Pension House Car Park has sixteen (16) split levels with approximately 700 vehicle capacity. It also has a restaurant, shops, gymnasium, chauffeur’s room, clinic and office accommodation.
The two car parks are managed by CCL Property Management Limited, a wholly owned company of the Trust.
With the difficulty in accessing washrooms in the centre of town, SSNIT built two (2) public places of convenience at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and at Adabraka to address this challenge. These were handed over to the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA).
The Abattoirs in Accra and Kumasi were established to provide a modern slaughtering place with the objective of making wholesome meat available to the general public within the Accra and Kumasi Metropolis. The companies core business are to provide slaughtering services to butchers and the production of hygienic meat products to the general public. This is also to replace the old and unhygienic slaughter houses in the two cities.
The Makola and Adenta Markets are managed by MMC Property Management Limited (MMCPML). The company was incorporated in 1994 as Makola Market Company to construct and manage decent, hygienic shops, offices and other ancillary facilities at the Accra Makola area in the Central Business District, following the fire outbreak at the original Makola No. 2 Market in 1993.
This led to the development of the Makola Shopping Mall and the new Makola No. 2 Market at Agbogbloshie, both of which were completed in 1996. In 2011, the Company’s name was changed from Makola Market Company to MMC Property Management Limited to reflect its new focus of residential and commercial property management in addition to the current business of market/mall management. MMC Property Management Limited has a total tenant base of over 2,200.
In commemoration of its 50th Anniversary in the year 2015, and to keep up its symbolic image as a corporate social responsibility giant, SSNIT decided to undertake the following social investments: