The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is on a new trajectory meeting the needs of its clients and drawing out their satisfaction.
This was the case with two staff of the Trust whose services impressed a couple, Samir and Doris Mouhtiseb, who had just gone on retirement and needed to process their documents to reflect their new status as pensioners.
This is a sharp departure from the years where clients, especially pensioners queue for long hours for services, including delayed payment of pension benefits, which had old and ailing senior citizens travelling long distances to the SSNIT headquarters to protest.
The two had gone to the Kaneshie-Awudome Branch of SSNIT, Accra and have since written to the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, commending the two ladies and expressing their appreciation to the management of SSNIT for the attitudinal change taking shape in the Trust, which they encountered.
A joint letter co-signed and sent to SSNIT boss reads: “my wife and I visited your department to follow up on her pension document and contrary about terrible customer services, we want to make special reference to two young ladies (names withheld) who served us, were excellent and beyond par and extremely courteous”.
Samir and Doris Mouhtiseb in their letter explained that “these young ladies (names withheld) gave us the kind of royal treatment which we have never encountered in this country and, for once, we felt very proud and honoured to be Ghanaians.
The letter which has since made it into the Daily Graphic newspaper in a column written by the SSNIT board chairperson, Elizabeth Ohene, had Samir and Doris, telling the SSNIT boss that they were “bringing this experience to your attention for you to know that you are doing a very good job by keeping very high standards in a public institution in Ghana”.
The letter dated June 16, 2022, urged the SSNIT boss to keep up the good work “and ensure that everyone who visits your department is made to feel as proud and as satisfied as we have been made to feel”.
The SSNIT board chairman in a column, thanked the Mouhtisebs, saying it is a demonstration that “some things are working in this country and shining through the gloom. In much the same way as I do not support people suffering in silence, the successes must also be celebrated”.
Ms. Ohene’s article entitled “Some light through the gloom” said “I would say this is as good a testimonial as anyone running an institution can expect to get from members of the public.
“Under normal circumstances, when a member of the public goes to an office that exists to serve the public, it should not be news that you are treated with courtesy and competence and dignity. That is what they are there for; that is what they are paid to do.
“In a SSNIT office which deals with pensioners, it should be the norm, but unfortunately, we have become accustomed to expecting to be treated with disrespect when we require a service.
“Or, to borrow the language of Mr Mouhtiseb, our country is full of horrifying stories of horrible customer service.
“I would like to think that even when there is general improvement and good customer service has become the norm as I am told can be found in SSNIT offices around the country, some people will always stand out like the two young ladies in the Kaneshie office who served the Mouhtisebs.
“SSNIT now guarantees that pension claims are processed within 10 days. When the service falls below expectation, when it takes more than 10 days to process your pension or when an officer is rude and disrespectful, we shouldn’t accept it as how things are done in Ghana.
“When we go to the Births and Deaths Registry to register a birth or a death, the officials there are not doing us a favour and they certainly shouldn’t be paid any money apart from the fee charged officially for the service.
“When the service improves, we should say so.
Ms. Ohene published the letter in column and stated that “by highlighting this letter from the Mouhtisebs, I am not trying to put the two SSNIT officials in the same category as the honest taxi driver who returned money left in his cab and became a national hero adding “I found that incident a touch embarrassing because it came across as though we all felt the taxi driver had done something extraordinary and totally unexpected and maybe, even un-Ghanaian.
“The point here is that the two young ladies in the SSNIT office did what was expected but they went out of their way and gave something extra. When that happens, we must recognise and celebrate it in the hope other people will be encouraged to behave in a similar manner and improve our customer services generally.
She was “certain the SSNIT management will do the needful and show appreciation for bringing such satisfaction to the public they seek to serve.
“I also want to say thank you to the Mouhtisebs for taking the trouble to write to SSNIT to acknowledge their satisfaction with the service they received. I have no doubt that there are lots of other people who have received similar exemplary service but did not think they should go to the trouble of telling anyone about it.
“After all, that is what is expected and what members of the public deserve. But just as the two young ladies at the Kaneshie office went out of their way and added something extra, the Mouhtisebs have also gone out of their way and added something extra.
“Again, to borrow their language, if the service they received made them feel proud and honoured to be Ghanaians, their letter makes me and I hope the SSNIT management, also feel proud and honoured to be Ghanaians.
