{"id":768307,"date":"2019-12-19T17:49:49","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T17:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/"},"modified":"2019-12-19T17:49:49","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T17:49:49","slug":"veteran-105-cries-for-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

A Second World War veteran, Daniel Okai,
\naged 105 is yet to lay hands on his benefits 70 years after the war ended. <\/p>\n

He enlisted in the Army on 23rd<\/sup>
\nApril 1941.<\/p>\n

He survived the ordeals of the Burmese
\njungle but he is still suffering the bureaucracy associated with collecting his
\nbenefits.<\/p>\n

The centenarian continues to ask his
\ndaughter Madam Emelia Diana Okai \u201cwhen are they going to pay me?\u201d And her
\nincessant answer \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d \u2013 should not be pleasing to the ears of the
\nold man.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon hearing about the entitlements due
\nmy father, I went to the Veterans Association Ghana (VAG) to meet a certain WO
\nSegbefia, who directed us to the Forces Record Office, Burma Camp, where the
\nold man was interviewed to ascertain his claim\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After the replacement of his discharge
\nbook the old man and his daughter were directed to the pension office where
\nthey were directed to the Accountant General\u2019s Department for a code.<\/p>\n

They have made two visits already to the
\nplace and the code is still not ready and without it, his entitlements cannot
\nbe worked out. <\/p>\n

Emelia a retired civil servant said when
\nshe asked an official of the Accountant General\u2019s Department, he said he did
\nnot know. <\/p>\n

She suspects that the records office is
\nyet to send details of the centenarian to the Accountant General\u2019s Department
\nfor the code to be generated. <\/p>\n

Emelia and her other sibling, both on
\nretirement had expected that the old man\u2019s entitlement would have been ready by
\nnow so they could arrange for a nurse to take care of him at home. <\/p>\n

At Burma Camp, soldiers who heard about
\nhim came out to see in the car. Now visually impaired, the retired private,
\nmost of his mates from the military having died, must certainly be getting
\ndisappointed that after the torments of war in Burma Camp, he would continue to
\nbe in suspense not knowing when his due would reach him. <\/p>\n

At one point he told his daughter that he
\nwon\u2019t go any longer to Accra for the processes, fatigue having set in. <\/p>\n

\u2018We did not expect the process to take
\nthis long\u2019 a distraught Emelia told DAILY GUIDE<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

His story is shared by many veterans
\naccording to WO Segbefia, a retired soldier himself and works with VAG. \u201cThere
\nare more veterans ahead of him in the pension queue but are yet to be invited
\nfor the biometric registration. We have identified some poor war veterans far
\naway from Accra but looking at the distance and knotty bureaucracy involved in
\nthe process, is it worth worrying them by putting them in a car and conveying
\nthem to Accra for a pension that they may not live to touch before passing away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pension House at Burma Camp was
\nconstructed by the then Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen Peter Blay, to
\nfacilitate pensions of veterans. <\/p>\n

The bottlenecks involved in the processes
\nhave compelled many to ask whether it is serving its purpose. <\/p>\n

Some of the veterans who number less than
\n200 today pass away before having their entitlements delivered to them. <\/p>\n

A visually impaired 103-year-old war
\nveteran, ex Pte Thomas Osei Lar of Annum in the Eastern Region, passed away a
\nfew weeks ago without enjoying his pension. <\/p>\n

When he was discovered in 2018, according
\nto Segbefia by Col Frank Tei, he was receiving a montly pension of GH\u00a237.00.
\nWWII ended in 1945.<\/p>\n

Two calls and a text message to the Pension House, Burma Camp, not SSNIT Pension House, were not responded to. <\/p>\n

By A.R. Gomda <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Second World War veteran, Daniel Okai, aged 105 is yet to lay hands on his benefits 70 years after the war ended. He enlisted in the Army on 23rd April 1941. He survived the ordeals of the Burmese jungle but he is still suffering the bureaucracy associated with collecting his benefits. The centenarian continues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":768308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-768307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nVeteran, 105, Cries For Benefits - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A Second World War veteran, Daniel Okai, aged 105 is yet to lay hands on his benefits 70 years after the war ended. He enlisted in the Army on 23rd April 1941. He survived the ordeals of the Burmese jungle but he is still suffering the bureaucracy associated with collecting his benefits. The centenarian continues […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/id.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"headline\":\"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-19T17:49:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":599,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/id.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/\",\"name\":\"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/id.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-19T17:49:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/19\\\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/id.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/id.jpg\",\"width\":450,\"height\":422},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"A Second World War veteran, Daniel Okai, aged 105 is yet to lay hands on his benefits 70 years after the war ended. He enlisted in the Army on 23rd April 1941. He survived the ordeals of the Burmese jungle but he is still suffering the bureaucracy associated with collecting his benefits. The centenarian continues […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/id.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"headline":"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits","datePublished":"2019-12-19T17:49:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/"},"wordCount":599,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/id.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/","name":"Veteran, 105, Cries For Benefits - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/id.jpg","datePublished":"2019-12-19T17:49:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/12\/19\/veteran-105-cries-for-benefits\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/id.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/id.jpg","width":450,"height":422},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}