Senior Citizens feted in Koforidua

Koforidua, July 2, GNA - To mark Ghana's 51st Republic Day, the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council hosted senior citizens, comprising retired civil and public servants and other statesmen, to a luncheon on Friday at Koforidua.

Three senior citizens were selected from the 21 districts accompanied by their Municipal and District Chief Executives to the function, which was characterised by old school music rendered by the Ghana National Fire Service Band in the region.

The Regional Coordinating Director, Mr Samuel Bawa, noted that the services and sacrifices of the senior citizens were so immense that the State could not repay them in any terms but expressed the hope that the function would go a long way to encourage others to serve their nation with all diligence. The Regional Minister, Dr Akyem Apea-Kubi, said the nation could not afford to overlook the great contributions of the senior citizens to national development because their efforts had achieved Ghana's present status.

He said the nation had taken a cue from the lesson Jesus taught about the value of gratitude in the bible with story of the 10 lepers he cured and was thus expressing gratitude to its senior citizens who blazed the trail to contribute their quota to national development. Dr Apea-Kubi noted that even though they had left the scene, their rich experiences were always needed and urged them to use their wise counsels to help address the many challenging issues confronting the nation.

He said both the traditions and laws of the land provided adequate channels and procedures through which grievances could be redressed and appealed to the senior citizens to be interested in the stability of the nation by educating the youth on such issues. The Regional Minister assured the senior citizens of the preparedness of the RCC and the government to tap from their rich experiences.