News:
May 12, 2013
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Fanteakwa South, Kofi Okyere-Agyekum has counselled his constituents on the need to save and invest for the future in order to have financial stability when they are out of active work.
He said it is disheartening for elderly people to struggle to make ends meet at a time when they are supposed to be enjoying their retirement.
Mr Okyere-Agyekum gave the advice when he inaugurated a welfare fund to cater for members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in his constituency at Bussoso in the Fanteakwa South Constituency in the Eastern Region.
He said though the retirement age from active service is 60 years, many people of that age bracket had a fear of the “unknown” because they had not made enough savings and investment to cover their post pension years, leading many to change their birth dates to hold on to their jobs.
“Many people have had cause to change their dates of birth just to hold on to their jobs because they will have little or nothing to live on in the event of retirement. This situation has dire consequences during the days of retirement because they may not be financially cushioned enough to take care of life and its natural eventualities of demands,” he stressed.
The MP said the welfare needs of the people are paramount and there should be a systematic process to address them.
He pledged to contribute GH¢500 monthly to facilitate the growth and sustenance of the fund.
Some of the benefits of the fund include funeral support for members and their relatives, send-off party in the event that the member is moving to a different constituency, support for technical and vocational education including skill development training for the youth.
In another development, Mr Okyere- Agyekum has urged his constituents to remain calm and wait patiently for the Supreme Court to pronounce its verdict on the on-going court proceedings that is challenging the legitimacy of President John Mahama.
He said goings-on so far indicated that the NPP had a solid case in court “considering the mountains of evidence that the petitioners have gathered”.
The MP, who is on a familiarisation tour of his constituency, told a gathering at Osino that they should disregard “the propaganda being championed by NDC (National Democratic Congress) communicators” and “wait for briefings that will be given by the NPP’s Communicators”.
He noted that Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, NPP Vice Presidential Candidate in Election 2012 and star witness to the case has so far distinguished himself creditably and that his performance “had sent shivers down the spines of the NDC, hence their decision to use the propagandist approach to confuse the public”.
He asked supporters of the NPP to continue to foster unity in the party.
The MP visited more than 40 communities in the constituency including Osino, Bosooso, Nkankama, Ehiamankyene and Saaman.
GNA