Engage retired military personnel in national development- VAG

Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - The Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG), on Monday appealed to public and corporate institutions to recognize the skills and knowledge of retired servicemen and to engage them for accelerated national development.

According to Commodore Steve Obimpeh, National Chairman of the VAG, many retired military personnel were still capable of working and had acquired various skills and professions, coupled with their high standards of discipline, which they could bring to bear on the development of the country.

Commodore Obimpeh made the appeal at a press conference organized by the VAG in Accra to draw attention to the plight of retired service personnel and the need for the nation and the Government to recognize their valuable contributions by ensuring that their welfare was given the adequate attention.

He said the Government had spent considerable resources training military personnel and that their various levels of skill should not be made to go waste.

Commodore Obimpeh also urged the country to give appropriate recognition to the contributions of veterans, saying, “We cannot let their sacrifice for Ghana come to nothing, they should be recognized by the state and the entire citizenry”.

He said veterans had spent their youth to ensure the peace and security needed for the country's development, thus their welfare and those of their families should be given utmost attention by the state, adding, it was not enough to recognize their contributions only during the Remembrance and Myonhang days and the 28th February Crossroad shooting incident commemorations.

Commodore Obimpeh expressed optimism that the Veterans Administration Bill, currently before Parliament, when passed into law, would adequately address the welfare and concerns of retired military personnel and urged all to support it.

He said it was important for government and society to give the veterans what was due them while in retirement for them to appreciate that their services had not been given in vain.

Group Captain Albert Jones- Mensah, Executive Director of VAG, called on the public to partake in all activities aimed at raising funds for the welfare of members of the Association.

He urged corporate institutions to patronize the VAG's Band Concert scheduled for October 20, at the Veterans Club House near the Ako-Adjie interchange, in Accra, where an appeal for the sale of Poppy, would be launched by Vice President John Mahama.

The Poppy Appeal is an annual fund-raising drive in the weeks before the Remembrance Day on November 11, during which artificial red poppies, meant to be worn on clothing, are offered to the public in return for a donation.

VAG, formerly known as Ghana Legion, is an association of veterans who served in the Gold Coast Regiment and the Ghana Armed Forces and were honourably released. The association is the sole body recognized by government as representing the interest of veterans.

GNA