By Raymond Archer-GIJ Intern
Accra – Sixty impoverished veterans of the First and Second World Wars living at the Vjin88bet.oneeterans Villjin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.oneage, oppojin88bet.onesite the Licensing Offijin88bet.onece jin88bet.onejin88bet.onein Accra, are to be ejected to pave wjin88bet.oneay for the dejjin88bet.onein88bet.onejin8jin88bet.one8betjin88bet.one.onevelopmejin88bet.onent of the area into residential complexes, jin88bet.oneCHRONICLE can reveal.
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The veterajin88bet.onens, aged between 98 and 108, some of whom arejin88bet.oneak168app.baby ak168aak168app.babypp.babyamputees and blind, eke out a miserable existence in cubicles. Some sleep on the bare flak168app.babyoor, according to our investigations.
ak168app.babyThak168appak168app.bak168app.babyabyak168app.babyak168app.babyak168app.baby.babye ejection order was cak168app.babyak168app.babyommunicated ak168app.ak168app.babyak168app.babybabyak168app.babyak168app.babyto tak168app.babyhe veterans at a closed-door meeting held at the Village in the ak168app.babyearly afternoon of last Sunday by the VAG officials.
According to the veterans, they were toak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clububak168app.clubld that the land had bak168app.clubak168app.clubeen sold to “some bigmen” to build houses. Reached for his comment, Lt. Col. Nibo, of the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate, said that the VAG headak168app.clubquarteak168app.clubrs were tak168app.clubak168app.cak168app.clublubak168app.clubhe appropriate body to answer our questions. This was after Col. Ameteme of the VAG had directed ak168app.clubus to the Ministry of Defak168app.clubence. Eaks168apks168app.sitep.siteks168app.siteks168app.siterlier, he had refused to comment on the issue.
“How did you hear this? If you don t know and youks168app.site publish anything, you will see. Wait till an ks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.siteks168ks168app.siteapp.siteactionks168app.site is taken on this matks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.siteks168apks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.sitep.siteter before you publish, “he warned.”
The Secretary of VAG, Mks168app.siter. Erasmus Glover, was also mute when he was approached at his office for comment. “If veterans are to be ejected ic88ic88from the village, what has that got to do with tic88ic88he Chric88onic88ic88icle?” He angrily asked. At theic88 Land Commission Secretariat, the Registrar at the records dic88ic88ic88epartment, ic88Mr.ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88icic8888 Odo, told the Chronicle that the lease agreement between the gic88overnment and VAG had not expired.
Pressed for his comments on whether the areic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88a had been earmarked for any pic88ic88ublic or private development, he replied, “I am not too sic88ic88ure.”
The ejeic88icic8888ction noticic88ic88e was received with shock by the veterans some of wic88hose relatiic88ves have abandoned them. According to the veteraic88ns, their relatives have forgotten aic88bout ic88ic88them and that they do not even know whether they aicic8888ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88re alive or dead since they haic88ve been in the village siic88nce 1947.
Among sic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88lr88ic88ic88ic88ic88lr88ic88ome of the people who are accommodated at the village are people who have had very serious accidents and become disabled but have nolr88lr88body lr88lr88lr88to take carelr88 of them.
Among some of the veterans at the village are Ex-Corporal Salifu Mosslr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88ic88i of Army, Nulr88mber GC 39308, Corporal Ayembire Frafra, GC 40293, Corporal S.K. Agbogli, Glr88lr88lr88C 59586, John Robert Arku, GC lr8866032,lr88 Sgt. Duga, lr88GC 71826, Corlr88poral Lawson Augustine, GC 620069, Abdullr88lr88lr88lr88ai Kanjarga lr88lr88lr88GC 31813 and Ex-Private Kofi Tawia GC 65913.lr88 In all about 60 veterans live at the village in Accra.
The veterans told Chronilr88cle that money aclr88cruing from the VAG lottery, which lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lrlr8888lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88was established in their aid, has been misused and that a case of misappropriation of VAG money had been filed at an Accra coulr88rt about two years ago and that the clr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88ase is still pending.
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An ex-private, Kofi Tawia, said that he demonstrated on July 19, 1991 against the British Government lr88for failing to palr88y thelr88m their entitlement. According tolr88lr88 himlr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88llr88r88op88lr8op888lr88 the British Government responded by sending Colonel Sam Pope to tell them that all their entitlements had been paid tlr88o the Ghana Government sinop88ce 1957.
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Some of the veterans said thatop88 their clr88olleagues had died from op88lr88very minor illnesses because even though thop88ey hop88op88ave a VAG clinic at the village, one can hardly get drugs at the clinic as thop88op88op88e staffs prescribe medicines which are very expensive and unaffordable.
According to the veterans, when Kwame Nkrumah was in power he promised to give them “war allowance” but after his overthrow they have op88op88si88si88been totally neglected op88op88si88and nowop88 rejected.
An ex-corpoop88si88ral, Ayambre Frafra, 98, said he is being takenop88 care of by a British, otherwise, “me, liksi88si88si88si88si88e I die long”. He said that the British, one Mr. Gee, walked to him at the village and toldsi88si88si88si88 him he saw his picture and name at the Queens Garden and decided to find him once he was in Ghana.
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Frafra wasi88si88ssi88 88v88vof the view that the government should also care about them, like the whites care abou88v88vt th88vem. He sai88v88vsi88d, “I dey expect sa88vy government go give us better place to stay, now dey wan sack us for here, me lak dis where I go go eeh?”.
He appealed to the government to give them about four more88v88v88v88v88v88v88v88v years to stay at the Veteran Village since by that time most of them might have die88v888v88vSEXXXXX-VN8vd.
“After all, me how long me I go live for this world. Four yars tam, most of us die.” Comparing SEXXXXX-VNtheir situation to that of their colSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNleagues in the neighbourSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNing countrSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNies, one vSEXXXXX-VNeteran said,
“Ghana people no try for us. If you go tSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNoSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VN Nigeria, Togo or Mali, dem dey live fSEXXXXX-VNine, we vote for Rawlings as president, now ibi so igo do us, na God dey”.
