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The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has started a process to verify the academic qualifications of 2,465 of its workers. This exercise forms part of moves by the trust to cleanse its system of employees with possible fake qualifications.

SSNIT’s Director-General, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang indicated that a directive in this regard was issued on August 2017, according to the Daily Graphic.

“It is a policy of SSNIT for all certificates to be verified, but, somehow, Afaglo slipped through. We, therefore, need to make sure similar incidents do not occur in the future.”

Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang also noted that he expected his own credentials to be screened too and urged staff of the trust to cooperate and not feel targeted by the exercise.

“I expect the Human Resource of the department of the trust to do it, I am also an employee of SSNIT and I expect my certificates to be vetted… We are not out there to victimise anyone; we are only seeking to cleanse the image of the trust to regain absolute confidence” he said.

These processes come in the wake of Trust sacking its General Manager in charge of Management Information Systems (MIS), Caleb Afaglo, for securing a job with fake degrees.

Suspicions arose earlier in 2017 with the controversy over SSNIT’s award of a $34 million contract for the development and implementation of an Operational Business Suite (OBS), which later ballooned to $72 million.

According to Citi News‘ checks, EOCO’s investigation was to ascertain the authenticity of Mr. Afaglo’s doctorate degree, and his tenure in previous organizations, with the suspicion that he was unqualified for the role he occupied at the state pension organization.

It is believed that his questionable qualifications contributed to failings within the Trust that led to the contract award with its attendant expenditure overruns.