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Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda Constituency in the Eastern region, Mr. Quaittou Agyapong, has suggested that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) should be dissolved. According to him, SSNIT is of no use to Ghanaians since it has lost focus and failed to address pertinent issues bothering on workers� pension funds. Speaking on GTV Morning Break Fast show on Friday, October 30, 2014 the Akim Oda legislator called on government to set up an independent institution to champion the cause of workers� pension funds. Mr. Agyapong blamed the current second tier-pension controversy which has accounted for the indefinite strike action by twelve (12) labour unions including the education and health sectors as well as the judiciary service and civil service on poor leadership of SSNIT. He drew attention to the series of frustrations many Ghanaians have gone through in the hands of SSNIT in their attempt to get their pension funds paid to them. �Ghanaians have gone through hell in the hands of SSNIT. As I speak now, I have been chasing SSNIT for almost eight months now to pay my late brother�s retirement pension package. ��but my efforts have not been successful as a result of lack of transparency and coordination among workers of SSNIT,� Mr. Quaittou Agyapong noted. That worrying development, Mr. Quaittou Agyapong stressed, explains his reason for his call on the government of President John Dramani Mahama to, as a matter of urgency, �scrap� off SSNIT. He charged national administration to think strategically to ensure adequate security, the creation of wealth, promotion of health and reduction of poverty in the country. He said government needs strategic and selfless workers who will always place institutions of state first against their personal interest. The tier-two pension controversy, which has compelled an amalgamation of associations within the labour front to embark on an indefinite strike, Today gathered, has taken a new twist as the labour unions claim the funds have accrued about GH�2 billion. The Attorney-General had already gone to court, seeking a declaration that the strike action is illegal, but the striking workers have called the bluff of government, insisting they are also ready for court. The government last week announced that the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) or the tier-two pension funds, which is being held in trust for workers at the Bank of Ghana, had accrued about GH�450,000 million. However, unknown to both the Minister and deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu, and Baba Jamal, respectively, who had disclosed the figure at a news conference, the then deputy Minister of Finance, Fiifi Kwetey, had said somewhere in December 2013 that the pension fund had accrued to a whopping GH�1.2 billion since 2010. Interestingly, the government, through the Central Bank, was said to have calculated the amount at 2.2% to arrive at the GH�450,000 million instead of the Treasury Bill Rate of 15 plus 2% at the time and when Baba Jamal was told that Fiifi Kwetey, now Minister of Agriculture, had mentioned a higher figure, he said the media could �go� with the higher figure. It was unclear why the BoG decided to calculate the interest rate at 2.2% instead of the prevailing TB rate which currently stands at 24% in addition to 2% as the negotiated price, making it 26%. The workers are even speculating that the tier-two pension funds have reached almost GH�2 billion, going by the prevailing TB rate, since they claim the interest itself accumulated an additional value. The workers say the Pension Trust Alliance is being foisted on them by the government, stressing that they have the right to select where they want to invest their funds. Sources told Today that government has been reluctant to allow the workers to singlehandedly select their own fund managers due to the risks involved, after it realised that the amount was getting huge by the day and it feared once the money got into the hands of private fund managers, they may be financially powerful. Another reason was that government was not ready to pay the actual interest pegged at the prevailing TB rate of 24% plus 2%. However, the workers have reiterated their resolve to stick to the fund managers of their choice who are already registered with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA,) asking government to desist from undue interference.