Bolgatanga, Aug 14, GNA - Mr. Edward Ameyibor, General Secretary of the Ghana Pensioners Association, has appealed to pensioners not to undermine their dignity by sitting at home and dependa on other people since many pensioners could still work. He said this on Thursday when he addressed the Upper East Regional Branch of Pensioners Association in Bolgatanga. Mr. Ameyibor told the pensioners not to see themselves as paupers but to come out with profitable projects that would yield them profit. He suggested to the pensioners in the region to embark upon small scale farming like guinea fowl rearing, sheep and goat rearing, rice and vegetable farming among others. Mr. Ameyibor appealed to pensioners to engage in national development issues like educating the youth in their communities on discipline and peace to help curb social vices especially stealing and armed robbery.

He asked the members to encourage other pensioners who had not joined the association to do so to enable them fight effectively to achieve their demands.

Mr. Ameyibor said SSNIT usually released pensioners' salaries on the 6th of every month and had instructed that the banks paid pensioners on the third week of every month but most of the pensioners received their monies after the end of the month. He urged such banks to reverse the situation before the association sought the services of other banks.

Mr. Tawiah-Yemoson, President of the National Pensioners Association, assured the pensioners that they had a representative on the SSNIT Board and their concerns would be addressed. He said a recreational centre for pensioners would be built in Accra this year and would be replicated in all the regions. Mr. Tawiah-Yemoson asked pensioners who are 72 years and above to sign their life certificates at any of the SSNIT offices to enable them access their pension monies and that failure to do so would cause the deletion of their names from the pay system.