The People’s National Party (PNP) is demanding the urgent passage of a legislative instrument (LI) to create a permanent fund for victims of not only the recent helicopter crash but other national disasters.
PNP says the latest intention of President John Dramani Mahama to create a fund for the children of the victims of the helicopter crash is not enough.
“While well-meaning, this approach is inadequate and unsustainable,” the party said in a press release on Wednesday, August 13.
“A fund can be depleted, discontinued, or politicised. It risks becoming token gesture that fades away with time.”
The press release issued by Chairperson and Leader Janet Asana Nabla urged the passage of so-called National Heroes Dependants Protection Act, a permanent, state-backed welfare system enshrined in law, funded through the Consolidated Fund, and administered under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, according to the party.
It added that the LI must provide a monthly salary-styled stipend to widows of victims to cater for the children and in some cases parents of the deceased who left no children.
It also demanded that the LI ensures full transparency and accountability “so the system is never used as a conduit for siphoning money from the state purse”.
It stressed that this must be a solemn duty.
“Those who gave their lives in service to Ghana paid the ultimate price. Their families must not be left vulnerable to the changing winds of politics or the exhaustion of public sympathy.
“A strong, permanent legislative framework is the only way to ensure that the debt we owe them is honoured not for a few years, but for generations to come.”
