Government urged to maintain tombs of ex-servicemen

Mr Cornelius Okan-Adjetey, grandson of Sergeant  Peter Adjetey, one of the three ex-servicemen who were killed during the 28th February Christianborg Crossroads Shooting in the then Gold Coast, has called on government to maintain the tombs of the three ex-servicemen because they had become national assets.

Mr Okan-Adjetey, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Thursday during the 65th anniversary celebration of the event on Thursday, expressed concern about the dilapidated nature of his grandfather’s tomb, adding that the neglect and state of the tomb would not encourage anyone to sacrifice for the country.

“The state of my grandfather’s tomb is bad, and it’s sad that kids who have now turned the place into a playground would not be impressed and motivated by it”, he added.

He noted that although every year, government did well by honouring the three ex-servicemen through remembrance ceremonies, not much was done for the families they had left behind.

He thanked government for the anniversary celebration, saying that it would inspire others to stand up and fight for their rights.

Captain Rtd Victor Ansah, Public Relations Officer of the  Veterans Administration of Ghana (VAG) commended Government for the Act of Parliament (Act 844 of 2012) that had transformed the Association into an Administration as it had now been vested with more power to handle issues relating to ex-servicemen.

“By the new Act, it has now become compulsory for every retired officer to belong to the Administration; the new VAG has been incorporated into the Ministry of Defence and ex-servicemen would now be entitled to an income”, he explained.

He noted that as part of the Act, government had taken ownership of VAG which was originally formed by some five retired officers.

Source: GNA