Wives of Police in Tamale Complain About Poor Treatment to Husbands

Members of the Northern Regional Branch of the Police Wives Association (POWA) have expressed deepest regret about the extreme frustration and socio-economic difficulties that confront their husbands (Police Personnel) after retiring from active service to the state. 

According to the women, they had been witnesses to a greater number of retired senior police officers in Ghana who had become so wretched, despondent and miserable in life due to government’s inability to prepare a comprehensive and deserving pension packages for those officers. 

Speaking in an interview with Savannahnews during a special one week fasting and prayer session organized by the POWA members in Tamale to ask for God’s protection for their husbands in the discharge of their duties, the Northern Regional President of the Association, Mrs. Vivian Tang outlined the risk associated with the work of the police.

She bewailed about the large numbers of police personnel who had lost their lives or rendered incapacitated in their service to the state without any proper compensation or state support to their families.

Mrs. Vivian Tang suggested to the government and the Police High Command to set up a special scheme or fund to support the wives of the Police to become supportive to their husbands and families during retirement.

“It is so shameful that after our husbands have worked for the state for let’s say 30 years or more, they and their families cannot boast of anything. Sometime even where to lay their heads, how to pay their children’s school fees, medical bills and other expenses become so difficult for them. How, I mean how!” She questioned.

She complained about the size of houses provided for the accommodation needs of the Police and their families, which she noted compounded their frustrations. In Tamale for instance, some officers with three to five children live in single rooms especially those occupying the storey building.

The POWA President also suggested to the government to either give housing loans or build affordable houses and sell to the Police officers through monthly deductions from their salaries so that they could also own houses after retirement. 

Mrs. Vivian Tang however noted that the formation of the association had enlightened the wives of the Police to cope with and support their husbands to reduce their frustrations and emotional traumas emanating from their poor condition of service.

She said that, most of the women thought that their husbands were just being irresponsible for not adequately meeting the demands or the needs of their families (wives and children), but through the meetings and sensitizations some of the women who initially wanted to run away from their marriages with their children now have different minds all together.

The POWA according to her had also helped the wives of the Police to have one voice, live peacefully with one another and supporting each other.

The Head Pastor of Christian Mission Dunamis Church, Tamale, Rev. Isaac Adjei who led the fasting and prayer session for the week commended the women for the vision to come together to support their husbands with prayers.

He assured them that with faithful prayers, God Almighty would transform their husbands and change their economic situation for the better and make them self-reliant during retirement.

Rev. Adjei therefore cautioned the women to put unnecessary pressure on their husbands or compound their frustrations by making outrageous demands. 

He encouraged the leadership of POWA to build the capacities of the members with employable skills or encourage them to start some small scale businesses to support their families.