The Ghana Government Pensioners Association (GGPA has called on the government to increase salaries of workers to guarantee them better pension.
According to the National Chairperson of the association, Ms Esther Obimpeh, many workers went on retirement without adequate pension, stressing that they eventually became paupers and a burden to their family.
Speaking at the 2021 United Nations International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) in Accra yesterday, Ms Obimpeh stated that pensioners in the country were facing lots of challenges, including health care, time of receiving their benefit, social exclusions and abuse in some cases.
“In Ghana, there is no special health care facility for older persons. Usually when we clock age 60 and above we become vulnerable to many kinds of diseases due to our lowered immunity status,” she added.
Ms Obimpeh indicated that the old system of “neighbour caring” had taken a back seat, thus when one retired and was unable to receive the benefit on time, the question of the person becoming a pauper was not far-fetched.
She called for a decentralised process of working on retirement benefit, adding that “the Ministry of Social Welfare must make provision for the setting up of homes for the aged like it exists in Switzerland and Holland.”
Touching on the theme for the celebration “Digital equity for all ages,” Mr Walter Aquah, Senior Cultural Officer of National Commission on Culture (NCC), stated that it affirmed the need for access and meaningful participation in the digital world by older persons.
He said a report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) indicated that women and older persons experienced digital inequality to greater extent than other groups in the society, and expressed regret about it.
Mr Aquah underscored the need for the country to explore the role of policies and legal frameworks to ensure privacy and safety of older persons in the digital space.
The Director of Projects Coordination, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Mr Felix Logah, noted that the issue of ageing policy has gained international recognition and promised his outfit’s commitment to ensuring a secured life for the aged.
In so doing, he said his outfit had implemented an action plan that created a supportive environment for active ageing, ensuring effective planning and mainstreaming of ageing issues into national development process, reducing poverty and ensuring security of older persons, while improving health and nutrition for older persons.
The occasion was also used to award 10 pupils who participated in “My Favourite Granny Pa Challenge” with Tabiri Henewaa Kiki, a pupil of Presbyterian Junior High School emerging the ultimate winner.
She received a plaque, hamper, mathematical set, set of cosmetics and a two-day vacation trip with her grandparent.
The United Nations Day of Older Persons is marked on October 1 across the world to celebrate the significant contributions of older persons, and senior citizens to society and national development.
BY JOYCELINE NATALLY CUDJOE
