The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has launched a Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED) to enroll people in the informal sector of the economy onto the trust.

SSNIT has targeted to enroll about 500,000 self-employed people on the trust by the end of 2023 with the introduction of SEED.

At the launch in Kumasi on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tinkorang, said the initiative is aimed at allowing the informal sector and self-employed people to get enrolled on the trust.

The SEED, he said, will redefine social security and give hope to self-employed people to enable them to retire in dignity and comfort.

Currently, Mr Ofori-Tinkorang said, out of the total number of 1.9 million SSNIT contributors, only 32,000 representing two per cent are self-employed people, which he described as low.

He said they are going to intensify their education, targeting churches, mosques as well as market areas to increase the understanding of the self-employed people on the need to join the trust.

Dr Ofori-Tinkorang, therefore, called on the informal sector to take the opportunity to join the trust for the sake of their retirement.

For his part, the Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Bright Wireko-Brobbey, said the government will not touch the SSNIT contributions irrespective of the nature of economic hardship the nation finds itself.