Fifty Needy Old Women Receive KEEA New Pension Scheme

A total of 50 needy old women, aged between 70 and 80 years, from Berasi in the Abrem traditional area of the Komenda Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) district on Thursday began receiving GH ¢11.00 each per month as their pension. The arrangement was a partnership of the KEEA and the municipality of Gouda in the Netherlands. Mr George Frank Asmah, District Chief Executive (DCE), who made the first presentation of the pension to the beneficiaries at Berasi said, under the KEEA-Gouda pension project, dubbed “Adopt a Granny Foundation,” the beneficiaries need not contribute to the scheme, because its being implemented purely on humanitarian grounds, and to qualify, one must have attained the age of 70. Besides proving that the pensioner has no breadwinner to cater for her. He said the scheme, which was initiated Mr Wim Cornelis, Mayor of Gouda, was to among others, assist the needy aged “to put food on their tables on daily basis”. Mr Asmah said the partnership arrangement, which was initially slated to last for three years has been extended by 12 more years. He said the partnership initially started with sanitation improvement activities in the KEEA district, culminating in the distribution of over 1,000 litter-bins in many communities and that currently the partnership is in the process of constructing a 1.2 million Euros plastic recycling factory in the district and is expected to employ 3,000 people from the area. The DCE said out of the arrangement the district had also received a number of sanitation vehicles, fire tenders, an ambulance, computers, hospital beds and equipment as well as footballs and jerseys. Nana Ato Arthur, Central Regional Minister, commended the district for striving to sustain and expand the partnership arrangement that began during his era as the DCE of the district. He also commended the mayor of Gouda for his commitment to the KEEA-Gouda partnership and advised the beneficiaries of the pension scheme to use their new monthly pension judiciously. Nana Kyiriwia Kordie, Omanhene of the Abrem traditional area, who presided, thanked KEEA district assembly and Gouda municipality for designing and implementing the pension scheme for the Berasi community.