Parliament mourns with Rawlings

A delegation from Parliament, led by the Speaker, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, yesterday visited former President Jerry John Rawlings at his office in Accra to mourn with him over the passing of his mother, Madam Victoria Agbotui.

Other members included the Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the First Deputy Majority Whip, Mr Matthew Nyindam; the MP for Wa West, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, who represented the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, as well as other members of the Majority and Minority Caucuses and the Clerk-to-Parliament, Mr Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah.

The delegation donated some items and cash to support the pre-burial arrangements of the late Madam Agbotui, who will be buried on October 24, this year in her hometown,Dzelukope, in Keta in the Volta Region.

Condolence

Prof. Oquaye expressed the condolences of Parliament and said while the family of Madam Agbotui was well known in the country and whose public service contribution was recognised, her death had affected many people.

“Parliament mourns with you; we bring you our condolence and we share your grief and we pray that at the appropriate time we will, as Parliament, participate effectively in the sending off of this grand old lady,” he said.

The Majority Leader, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said as a former head of state who ruled the country for 19 years, leaving “bold landmarks in the history of Ghana, it was appropriate for us to mourn and shed tears with you”.
“In a critical moment he had to fall on the wisdom of the mother; the upbringing of the man himself was essentially done by the mother who bequeathed something good to this country,” he said.

And on behalf of the Minority, Mr Chireh said losing a mother, no matter the age, was a painful experience.

“On behalf of the entire Minority leadership and caucus, we are here to mourn with you and indicate to you our concern at your loss,” he said.

Appreciation

President Rawlings expressed appreciation to the delegation and appealed to the government to tackle the adverse impact sea erosion was having on settlements in coastal areas in the country.

He said sea current was slowly “eating away” the land of settlements in Keta, Prampram, Teshie, Nungua, James Town, Chorkor, La and others, destroying property and displacing the people.

The former President recalled that when his grandmother died some years ago, the family had no choice but to bury her at the Osu cemetery.

According to him, while he planned to have his mother buried at the same cemetery, the elders back home had requested that she be brought home for interment.

“I am sharing this with you because there is a place to bury my mother now, but there was no place to bury my granny and uncle when they passed on since we had no sea defence at the time.

“I am sharing this with you to appreciate how crucial it is to have soil under your feet and what a curse it can be if you have no soil under your feet and a place you can call your birthplace,” Mr Rawlings added.

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