[ 2014-10-27 ]

60% of Ghanaian pensioners live on Ghȼ200 a month, eat once a day
About 60% of pensioners in the country live on a
pay of Ghȼ200 per month, the equivalent of
$62.31. As a result, many of them are not able to
feed themselves more than once a day.

According to the Executive Director of Help Age
Ghana, Ebenezer Adjetey-Sorsey, the situation is
worse when it comes to persons who retire without
any pensions.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM,
Monday October 27, 2014 Mr. Adjetey-Sorsey noted
that the major challenge facing pensioners in the
country is income security, which should be blamed
on the state for reneging on its moral duty of
caring for the aged.

“The issue is not about anybody shortchanging
them in terms of the calculation. The issue has to
do with the constitutional provision Article
37(b)…to ensure that they live a comfortable
life,” he told Kojo Yankson, host of the Show.

He added: “The system is that pension in Ghana
is not keeping pace with our economic situation.
The minimum pension being paid this year is about
200 Ghana [cedis] and over 60% of pensioners fall
within this bracket”.

This means many pensioners lower than 70 years
cannot afford to cater for their healthcare needs
as they do not qualify for free healthcare under
the National Health Insurance Scheme which exempts
senior citizens, 70 years and above, from paying
premiums.

“We have a lot of them engaging in drug
abuse…some of them are being injected from their
rooms,” he lamented.


Action

General Secretary of the National Pensioners
Association, Edward Ameyibor says, “pensioners
are really having a hard timewith the current
situation”.

“Everybody thinks [because] they are old men
they will die very soon, but if you look at the
demography, we are growing stronger and living
longer”.

Mr. Ameyibor said many efforts by the Association
to get the state to address their concerns have
fallen on deaf ears, forcing them to institute the
Pensioners’ Medical Scheme which will be
launched in February, 2015, to cater for their
healthcare needs.

“We have talked to so many people and all that
we receive is sympathy and not action so we
thought that we should help ourselves and that is
what we are doing”.

Source - MyjoyOnline

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