GH¢18m recovered from loan beneficiaries – SSNIT
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has recovered about GH¢18 million in student loans paid to 28,430 beneficiaries.
The recoveries were made between January and November 2010.
Out of the amount, GH¢5,884,982 was paid in cash by 15,881 people, while GH¢10,940,217 was through the Social Security Fund by 9,901 others, with the rest being paid by 1,575 contributors.
The Corporate Affairs Manager of SSNIT, Ms Eva Amegashie, who made this known to the Daily Graphic on January 27, 2011, noted that since its inception, the trust had disbursed GH¢105,481,520.37 to 658,350 beneficiaries as loans.
She urged those who were yet to pay back the loans they took to start repaying now, since the money accumulated interest for as long as it remained unpaid.
“We would like to appeal to beneficiaries to pay back the money they collected because it attracts a six per cent interest,” she said, adding that failure to pay would result in the money being deducted from the contributions from guarantors.
Ms Amegashie said the trust had flexible repayment terms, including cash, either through outright payment or by instalments and mandating employers to deduct from salaries and pay to SSNIT.
Outside the country, she said, repayment could be done through the Ghana International Bank in the United Kingdom and Morgan Chase in the United States.
She said beneficiaries could visit any SSNIT branch and request for their statements or outstanding loan balance.
Asked whether or not the trust was still paying students’ loans, with the establishment of the Students Loans Trust Fund (SLTF), she answered in the affirmative, adding that those still benefiting were those pursuing courses such as Medicine and Engineering.
Ms Amegashie said those students took the loans before the SLTF came into operation and that in November last year SSNIT disbursed GH¢8,800 to 44 students still benefiting from the SSNIT loan scheme.
She expressed the hope that those students would complete their courses within a year, after which SSNIT would stop paying students’ loans, since the SLTF had been charged with that responsibility.
Source: Daily Graphic