Avail yourselves of due process of law - JAK

Accra, July 1, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday called on well-meaning Ghanaians with genuine complaint to avail themselves of the due process of law in pursuit of accountability, transparency and justice. "Short of this, rumour-mongering and unfounded allegations should be seen as a disservice to the nation and inimical to its well-being", he added.
President Kufuor made the call when speaking at a State Luncheon in honour of Senior Citizens of Ghana as part of activities marking the 45th Republic Day Anniversary celebrations in Accra. He said, "this is a period of hope and I entreat all Ghanaians to see it as such. The world believes in us; we must therefore, learn to believe in ourselves. The world is certain that Ghana has an exciting future; let us therefore, work together in harmony to make that bright future a reality. Indeed our children must inherit from us, a legacy of a united, prosperous, humane and just society." "This is what this Government is committed to and this should be our collective vision as a nation", he added.
President Kufuor asked Ghanaians to begin to count their blessings and refrain from pronouncements and actions that could undermine the massive international goodwill that the country currently enjoyed. "Lately, there have been statements posted on the internet, obviously meant to present the country in the worst possible light." He said the 50 per cent increase in pensions announced by the Government this year had begun and measures had been initiated to simplify the process of payment.
President Kufuor said Regional capitals were being re-equipped with new machines to issue photo Identity Cards to pensioners and it was expected that by next September the problems of ID cards that had hitherto brought some pensioners to Accra at great discomfort and cost would come to an end. He said in addition, frontline staffs of the Pensions Department were being retrained to make them more sensitive to the needs of pensioners.
Mrs. Janet Esseku, a former Broadcaster on behalf of the Senior Citizens commended the Government for the increasing recognition to Senior Citizens in the society. She said President Kufuor had shown much commitment to the welfare and well-being of Senior Citizens, not only on formal occasions but in the informal settings as well.
Mrs Esseku appealed to the Government to develop such commitment to a well-defined Government policy for the aged in society to help some of the health problems related to ageing. Mr Benjamin A. Quarcoo, a 103-year-old educationist was the oldest person at the Luncheon.