The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in collaboration with the National Pensioners Association (NPA), has celebrated the 100th birthday of Ima Zenabu Dagomba,
The report indicates that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in collaboration with the National Pensioners Association (NPA), has celebrated the 100th birthday of Ima Zenabu Dagomba, officially recognised as Ghana’s oldest female pensioner.
It further notes that in a deliberate effort to bring its services closer to the people, a high-level SSNIT delegation visited the centenarian at her residence in Wa Kabanye to mark the milestone.
The occasion was marked by music, food and drinks, and culminated in Madam Dagomba cutting her birthday cake with the assistance of SSNIT officials.
To honour her decades of association with the pension scheme, SSNIT presented the centenarian with a loaded hamper, while executives of the National Pensioners Association presented her with the association’s official cloth.
In his welcome address, the Tamale Area Manager of SSNIT, Seth Kpakpa Quartey, commended Madam Dagomba for her commitment to the pension scheme, noting that she has enjoyed a secure and dignified retirement for more than three decades.
“My message to the self-employed, traders, farmers and all workers in the Upper West Region is simple: do not leave your future to chance,” Quartey urged.
“If Madam Zenabu Dagomba can stand strong and enjoy the fruit of her labour several decades after retirement, then you too can do it.”
The celebration also served as a platform for SSNIT to announce new initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of both active contributors and pensioners.
Deputy Director-General for Operations and Benefits, Adam Sulley, indicated the imminent rollout of the Member Value Programme, which will include a comprehensive telehealth service developed in partnership with Trust Hospital and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
Acknowledging that access to healthcare remains a major concern for the elderly, Sulley explained that the initiative will enable pensioners to consult medical professionals remotely.
“If you are ageing and your health is failing you, that is not a good signal,” Sulley said.
“If you are not feeling well, a doctor’s consultation is just a phone call away. Simply call a doctor, and the doctor will attend to your needs.”
He added that holding the celebration at a pensioner’s home instead of a corporate venue was intended to demonstrate the practical benefits of the pension scheme to the wider community.
“All the people you see here today, the majority of them in the informal sector, are beginning to see what SSNIT can do,” he said, stressing that the long-term sustainability of the pension scheme depends significantly on increased enrolment from the informal sector.
