The proprietor of Vision Academy Preparatory School at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo municipality, F. K. Appiah, has appeared before the Odumase Krobo Circuit Court for failing to submit social security report of his staff to the Social Security and National Insurance trust (SSNIT) between September, 2012 and September, 2014.
According to the court, Mr Appiah acted contrary to sections 63 (7) and 83 (1)(d)(f)(h) of the National Pensions Act of 2008 (Act 766), to which he pleaded guilty.
When Mr Appiah was given the chance to explain why he failed to submit the report to SSNIT, he said the school was having financial challenges during that period but the court rejected his explanation, describing it as �unreasonable�.
According to the presiding judge of the court, Mr Asmah Akwasi Asiedu, the financial challenge of the school should not have prevented Appiah from submitting the records of his employees.
�He could have done that without paying the contributions for the period he was in difficulties and pay all later when he gets out of his financial difficulties.
�His refusal to submit the report meant he was refusing to honour his obligation to his employees� welfare and that cannot be tolerated,� Mr Asiedu emphasised.
The court, therefore, fined Appiah 100 penalty units amounting to GH�1,200.00 to serve as a deterrent to him and other employers who would want to flout the SSNIT law with impudence.
Presenting the facts to the court, the Somanya Branch Prosecutor of SSNIT, Mr Joshua Adjei-Kumi, told the court that Appiah failed to submit to SSNIT, social security contributions reports of employees between September, 2012 and September 2014.
The prosecutor said compliance officers visited Appiah�s outfit and invited him to the office to meet his obligations as prescribed by the law, but he refused to come.
He said SSNIT officers again went to the school premises for the accused person to present the information to them so that they could work on it, but the accused person bluntly refused to submit the records to the officer.
The accused was consequently served with criminal summons to appear before the court.
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