He admitted that senior citizens ought to be resting after faithfully serving the nation, but that notwithstanding, he appealed to them to speak out against those ills “in service to God and country”.

Speaking at a lunch for senior citizens at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra yesterday to commemorate Ghana’s 57th Republican status, the President said the unsatisfactory manner in which the nation treated its older citizens was the reason the 2016 manifesto of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) pledged to develop and implement policies for the aged and ageing issues into the framework and strategy of national development.

The event was attended by the Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and his wife, Samira, as well as government officials and functionaries.

The government, President Nana Akufo-Addo said, was committed to the realisation of that manifesto promise and was rolling out programmes and initiatives geared towards that end.

He was grateful to the senior citizens, both present at and absent from the event, for their 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 to enhance the image of our country,” he added.

Give me fair criticism

Calling for the support of senior citizens, the President urged them not to fall into the well-known temptation of telling him what they thought he wanted to hear.

“It would be equally tempting to tell me that I am the best thing that ever happened to Ghana, and it would be even more tempting to tell me to ignore my critics. I expect that, as senior citizens, you will not walk this road but will allow the moral authority of your status to justify your interventions,” he said.

Pension

The President said the government was working out measures to set up pension arrangements for farmers in major cash crop agricultural sectors and small-scale business associations across the country.

Beneficiaries of the new pension arrangements will include cocoa, coffee, shea nut, oil palm, pineapple and cashew nut farmers and members of small-scale business associations, such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), the Progressive Road Transport Owners Association (PROTOA), the Association of Small-Scale Industries (ASSI) and similar associations across the country.

President Akufo-Addo said the government was also working on procedures to streamline and improve the administration of pensions.

He explained that efforts to streamline pension administration had become necessary because of the rapid economic development being anticipated from the policies put in place by the government that would automatically translate into more satisfactory pension arrangements for the elderly.

Declaring that the procedures to streamline and improve the administration of pensions would be made public in the very near future, the President said measures were also being put in place to address the needs of key demographic segments of society.

The government, he said, also remained committed to providing the aged with a Freedom Pass to enable them to ride for free on all public transportation.

He said the vision of the government to build Ghana without depending on aid would continue to guide the government to recognise and honour the sacrifices and inputs made to the growth and development of the nation by all people, including senior citizens.

Building a Ghana for all

President Akufo-Addo urged the gathering and Ghanaians to believe in the country’s capacity to build a modern, developed, progressive nation free from a mindset of dependence, aid and charity.

“We can build a new Ghanaian civilisation where there is fair opportunity for all; where there is wide access to an educational system that embraces science and technology, particularly the digital revolution; where health care is a function of need, not means; where hard work, enterprise and creativity are rewarded; where there is an abundance of decent, good paying jobs, especially for our youth; where there is dignified retirement for the elderly and where there is a social safety net for the vulnerable and disadvantaged,” he added.

The founders of Ghana, he said, chose the Black Star as part of the national colours for a purpose, adding: “
They envisaged us as a shining example to the Black peoples of the world of what a free, dedicated and enterprising Ghanaian people can do to build a society the equal of any anywhere on the face of the planet. Let us be up and doing. Our destiny beckons.”