According to him, senior citizen have knowledge and experience in various fields and when taped will push forward the transformational developmental agenda of government.

Mr. Rockson Bukari made these remarks in Bolgatanga at this year’s 57th anniversary of Senior Citizen’s Day celebration which was also Ghana’s Republic Day.

The event featured revered personalities including politicians who contributed significantly towards to the struggle for Ghana’s freedom from colonization and her progressive development.

“It must be noted that senior citizens are made up of various professionals and experts in their fields of specialty. Thus, Ghana abounds in retiree senior citizens who are Medical officers, Lawyers, Engineers, Educationist, Agricultural officers, and stewards amongst others with wisdom, if well taped can help push forward our developmental agenda.”

“I wish to seize this opportunity to call on senior citizens of the Upper East Region and Ghana as a whole to bring their knowledge and experience to aid government to execute its flagship policies and programmes such as One Village One Dam, One District One Factory, and the One Constituency One Million Dollars to give Ghana a facelift,” Mr. Rockson noted.

For their part, the senior citizens deliberated on how best they can support government succeed in its pro-poor policies particularly in the Upper East Region.

Some senior citizens were also awarded for the immerse contribution to the development of the region.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The said the Finance Ministry was already working to improve the administration of pensions in the country.

“…the Ministry of Finance, despite our short period in office, is already working on procedures to streamline and improve the administration of pensions. Those procedures will be made public in the very near future.”

The President added that measures are being put in place to address the needs of workers in formal and informal sectors.

These measures, he said, are “specifically to set up pension arrangements for farmers in our major cash crop agricultural sectors like cocoa, coffee, sheanuts, palm oil, pineapple and cashew nuts; and for members of small scale business associations, like umbrella organizations such as GPRTU/PROTOA and Association of Small Scale Industries (ASSI), and similar associations across the country.”

Government, he added further, also remains committed to providing the aged with a Freedom Pass to enable them ride for free on all public transportation.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Saturday, 1st July, 2017, at a lunch held for senior citizens at the Banquet Hall of the State House, to commemorate 57 years since Ghana became a Republic.

The President also assured that “we shall continue to recognise and honour the sacrifices and inputs made to the growth and development of our nation by all of you gathered here this afternoon.”

President Akufo-Addo stated that it is for this reason that the 2016 Manifesto of the New Patriotic Party, pledged to develop and implement policies for the aged, and mainstream aging issues into the framework for national development.

Government, the President assured, “is committed to the realisation of this, and is rolling out programmes and initiatives geared to this end.”

President Akufo-Addo was grateful for to the senior citizens, both present and absent from the ceremony for the considerable contributions to the building of modern Ghana in all fields of endeavour.

“Our nation remains indebted to you. Your names should be enshrined in letters of gold in our history, because you have helped enhance the image of our country,” he added

Conditions of freedom and democracy

President Akufo-Addo noted that the Ghanaian people, just as they had demonstrated in the drive towards independence in the 1940s and 1950s, showed again their determination to live in conditions of freedom and democracy.

“On 28th April, 1992, they approved, by an overwhelming margin in a Referendum of that day, the adoption of the provisions of the Constitution of the 4th Republic, which set up the institutions of a liberal democratic state, operating on the basis of the separation of powers, with express guarantees of fundamental human rights,” he said.

The President continued, “We can all say, without any equivocation, that the 4th Republic has seen the longest period of stable constitutional governance in our history, and the benefits are showing. We have experienced in this era sustained economic growth; freedom of speech is now taken for granted; Parliament is making a good fist of exercising its oversight duties; and the Judiciary continues to demonstrate its independence.”

Nonetheless, President Akufo-Addo stated that the country continues to suffer important institutional and other deficits, such as widespread unemployment, corruption in the Executive and in the Judiciary, lack of authority of Parliament over public finances, and the lack the full logistical complement and personnel for the security services to provide adequate and effective safeguard for the nation’s stability and security.

“There is, however, far more self-confidence among Ghanaians today, than there has been since the very early days of self-government. Freedom and the spread of democratic values are strengthening the determination of Ghanaians to build a new Ghana, that is neither pawn nor victim of the world economic order,” he added.

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Source: Flagstaff House

The post Gov’t streamlining administration of pensions – Akufo-Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.