Hajia Alima Mahama with Dominic Nitiwul
The Minister of Local Government and
Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama has directed all 254 Metropolitan
Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCE) to personally see to the
raising of funds at the local level in support of Ghanaian Veterans.
This was part of the sector
minister’s contribution to ensuring that enough funds were raised to cater for
the welfare of veterans and their dependents as the world marks the Remembrance
Day on November 11.
The minister gave the directive when
she launched the 2019 Poppy Appeal at a Military Band Concert which was organized
by Veteran Administration of Ghana (VAG) on Thursday October 10, 2019.
The poppy appeal is a fund raising
period where support is solicited from the public to cater for needy and
incapacitated veterans.
The period is marked with the wearing
of an aesthetic poppy flower that has a colour of red, black and green which
respectively depicts blood of dead soldiers, mourning and hope.
Hajia Mahama indicated that the
gallantry and sacrifices of war veterans of Ghanaian origin who were
conscripted into the British army by virtue of Gold Coast being a British
colony, had led to a relatively free and safer world today.
The wars fought she said also busted
the myth of white supremacy thereby kindling the flames of nationalism and
independence that eventually led to the liberation of the country from colonial
rule.
“Ghanaian soldiers who fought
alongside their white colonial masters got to learn that the white man was not
a superman. He could be frightened like the black man and could cry loudly when
in pain like the black man” she said.
At a time when the wearing of the
poppy seems to be losing its significance among Ghanaians, the minister has asked
VAG to intensify its sensitization effort to educate Ghanaians on the
contribution and sacrifices of veterans.
She also urged them to look at
innovative ways of generating revenue to augment proceeds from sale of poppies,
donations and government subvention.
The Executive Director of VAG,
Captain Ben Duah rtd., disclosed that VAG has over 19000 members that included
116 world war II veterans.
He therefore appealed to corporate
institutions to come on board to support veterans by contributing generously to
this year’s celebration.
Some dignitaries present at the event
included the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul and the Chief of Defence
Staff, Lt. Gen. Obed Akwa.
By Issah Mohammed
