THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma
Firms and individuals seeking to do business with Ministries Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government must scale a high barrier. The Government requires that they secure a “certificate of compliance” from no fewer than seven government agencies. Without those certificates, they cannot offer services.
The mandatories are CAC certificate of business registration, registration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service for VAT, withholding tax and corporate tax and registration and payments with the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund. The firm or consultant should also have three years’ tax clearance certificate, PENCOM registration certifying a minimum of three staff and pension payment for those minimum three staff for at least three years at a minimum of N180, 000 per head.
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) has welcomed certain aspects in the announcements made by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in his Budget Speech this afternoon. Obviously to be welcomed are the Minister’s announcement of a 5% increase in personal income brackets that will provide R2.2 billion relief to workers, that have been thrown into and crippled by severe economic hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief is in line with the union federation’s pre-budget expectations that the Minister should rise personal income taxes in the context of the pandemic. Similarly, FEDUSA welcomes the Minister’s fiscal support to companies by lowering corporate tax from 28% to 27% from the beginning of the new financial year in April as they will help them gradually return to full operations and rehire workers, who were retrenched because of economic hardship triggered by COVID-19.
Contributory Pension: Going the way of old scheme?
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Tue Feb 23 2021
The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) was introduced in 2004 by then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration to address the problems of late payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees. The CPS established via Pension Reform Act, 2004, covered both the public and private sector workers.
For federal workers, the CPS is compulsory since inception, while some states are implementing the scheme.
However, the problems associated with the old scheme had started to rear its ugly head. Under the CPS, retirees are supposed to be paid their entitlements three months after retirement. That was so at the initial stage, but not now.
Four labour experts have waded into the debate on the extension of the retirement age with divergent positions.
The experts are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Employers Association, Mr Alex Frimpong, who welcomed the suggestion for the extension; labour consultants Mr Austin Gamey and Mr Senyo Adjabeng, who maintained that any such decision would be counterproductive, and the Director of the Labour Research Institute of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, who sought to handle the issue with tact and diplomacy.
When he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament (ACP) last Wednesday, the Minister designate for Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, threw his weight behind any plan to extend the compulsory retirement age of public workers to ensure the sustainability of the national pension scheme.
Retirement age debate: Experts express varied views graphic.com.gh - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from graphic.com.gh Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.