Major Maxwell Adam Mahama
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, yesterday laid a bill in parliament for the establishment of a trust fund for the maintenance of the family of the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, who was brutally killed by residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region in May, this year, when he was on national duty.
The bill, known as Major Mahama Trust Fund Bill, 2017, was accordingly referred to the joint committee of Finance and Defence and Interior for consideration and fine-tuning before it’s brought to the plenary.
Speaking to the media after the bill was laid, Mr Dominic Nitiwul said the government saw the urgent need for a fund to be created to take care of the wife and the two children left behind by the late Major Mahama.
He said when the bill is passed to give effect to the establishment of the fund, a five-member Board of Trustees would be put in place to manage it on behalf of the government.
According to him, the Board of Trustees, which would be chaired by the Minister of Defence, would include the chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, the ranking member of the Defence and Interior Committee, a former Government Statistician Dr Grace Bediako and the chief of Tumu (Tumu Kuro).
The minister also made it known that after the bill had been passed into law, private individuals, who are touched by the unfortunate incident, would be asked to also donate to the fund.
President Akufo-Addo, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, after the sad death of the soldier, promised to establish a Memorial Trust Fund with a seed money of GH¢500,000 himself.
According to the memorandum accompanying the bill, for the purpose of achieving the object of the Trust Fund, the Board of Trustees shall apply the moneys for the Trust Fund for the acquisition and furnishing of an appropriate three or four-bedroom house for the widow, Mrs Babara Mahama, and her children namely, Jaden Mahama and Jeremiah Boressah Mahama, at a location to be determined by Mrs Mahama.
The memorandum also explains that the Fund will take care of the two children of late Major Mahama up to a standard that the Board of Trustees may determine, having regard to the ability and the aptitude of each of them and for the purpose of ensuring that each of the children is adequately equipped to earn a living, among others.
Meanwhile, Mr Nitiwul said the government had found a rewarding job for the widow to earn a living and cater for her children.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr