DCE pleads with pensioners not to sit on sidelines

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Asante-Akim South, Mr. De-graft Fokuo, has appealed to pensioners to put their expertise and wealth of experience at the disposal of the nation.

They should not sit on the sidelines but continue to make sure that they shared with those in active service their experiences - to help avoid pitfalls and make things happen.

He added that they had a lot to offer towards national development even in retirement.

Mr. Forkuo was speaking at an end-of-year get-together held by the district branch of the National Pensioners Association at Juaso.

He encouraged them to venture into businesses to improve their livelihood and help create jobs, especially for the youth.

The DCE saluted them for the hard work, sacrifices and dedicated services and said the nation would remain eternally grateful for this.

Mr. Emmanuel Ameyaw, Chairman of the Association, called for the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to speed up the pension payment to retired workers.

He described as completely unacceptable and disheartening the situation where some of them could wait for about two years before they were paid their pension.

He again urged the government to roll out a comprehensive medical scheme for pensioners, saying the current arrangement under the National Health Insurance Scheme, was not enough as certain drugs and ailments were not covered.