Aged to board public transport free of charge

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has initiated a scheme to enable old people aged 65 and above to board public transport free of charge.

Under the scheme, beneficiaries will also enjoy free transport by private transport operators, especially from the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPRTU).

The scheme is expected to take off after the  ongoing compilation of  a national register for the aged scheduled to be completed by next year.

A Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Dela Sowah, who announced this, said, “After the registration exercise, each one of them would be issued with a pass that would allow them priority everywhere such as hospitals, banks and also access to free public transport.”

She was speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-week international workshop organised by Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), Eglise Evangelique Presbyterian du Togo (EEPT), and six Bremen Mission family churches in Germany in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Gender Ministry and the Department of Social Welfare.

The purpose of the workshop was to deliberate on ways to improve lives of the aged and also come up with sustainable programmes that would strengthen their fortunes.

According to her, the ministry was concerned about the aged in the society and so was setting up a desk specifically to deal with their challenges.

Mrs Sowah said the ministry was also establishing a tracking system to ensure that beneficiaries of pro-poor packages were the target group.

Realistic Policies

In a communique which was presented to the deputy minister, the participants of the workshop called on the government to come out with realistic polices and laws that would take care of the ageing population and create specific and efficient structures and systems for them.

It also tasked the government to collaborate with faith-based and Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) in the provision of welfare and also improve upon schemes such as health insurance, pension, retirement benefit and housing for the vulnerable.

The participants also urged synods and general assemblies to include issues of ageing and elderly care in their action plans and establish appropriate desks as well as encourage the establishment of community centres by local congregations to assist the aged.

The Moderator of EPCG, Rt Rev. Francis Amenu, observed that despite the importance of the aged in nation building, many of them had been neglected.

“The older generation is a treasure to the society as they possess vast experience and wisdom that the youth could tap to take the nation to greater heights,” he indicated.