Cecilia Ayi-Bonte
The National Police Widow Association (NAPWA) is calling on the government to create slots for the children of deceased police personnel in the Ghana Police Service.
Speaking at a meeting to mark the association’s first official National Delegates Conference, the President of NAPWA, Mrs. Cecilia Ayi-Bonte, bemoaned some of the struggles widows of police personnel face after the demise of their spouses.
She stated, “One of the issues of the widows is that monies that are supposed to be allocated to them by the government after the demise of their spouses are not given to them. We have to fight in order to obtain that money for them.”
She later reiterated that sometimes, the spouses do not receive their monies even many years following the death of their spouses. This, along with other financial hick-ups, makes it difficult for the affected families to survive.
The President therefore called on the government’s support to create special spaces in the Ghana Police service for the children of the widows as this can help curtail the financial burdens of the affected families.
“We want our children to assist us financially after they are done with their education therefore we are asking that slots should be created to enlist them into the Ghana Police Service because most of them are qualified.” She demanded. She added that this will be a sustainable way of dealing with financial issues within affected families and help them thrive.
She also asked that the government speed up the processing of the pension areas of the demised spouses who were actively serving. She lamented, “It takes about 4 years before the gratuity is paid to the widow. And after the gratuity has been paid to the widow, the monthly pension allowances are supposed to follow but that also takes some years.”
She therefore called on the government to heed to their requests and come to their aid.
NAPWA, which was established in August 2014, was created to assist the surviving spouses of police personnel who died during their active years of service.
By Abigail Adeyemi