Kofi Ampeah Woode
The Director, Ghana Armed Forces Pension Office (GAFPO) – Colonel (Col) Edem Tay has handed over the leadership of the Directorate to Col Moses Nankpan, after being in charge for about six (6) years and transforming that rear Directorate.
The affable Col E Tay handed over to her successor on Wednesday, 16 April 2025, after commissioning her last project of a signage, and celebrating the birthdays of two of her staff with the entire personnel, the previous day.
The day also specially recognized a staff member – Mr Felix Addo – for his dedication, sacrifice and invaluable contributions to administering pensions for widows and retired Service personnel.
The Directorate was established in 2012 by Ghana’s former and late Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, with widows’ and pensioners’ arrears payments since 2012 being stalled.
GAF’s Pension Office was established to operate with autonomy, with the authority establishing it indicating that it would be administered by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), until such time that the right structures are in place for the autonomy to materialize.
Their mandate requires them to facilitate the necessary documentation for the payment of monthly pension for GAF pensioners and widows.
Although that autonomy is yet to be attained, Col Tay, who moves on to become Director Budget, at the Department of Financial Comptroller, is credited with bringing transformation to her Directorate, such as;
1) During her tenure, the Directorate worked at getting arrears being paid to GAF widows and pensioners to the tune of GHS 7.6 million in its lump sum; 2) worked at shortening the long process for widows and pensioners to get their pension payments, from two years to 8 months;
The Pension Office has also 3) developed an electronic Application in automating the processing, such that anyone on the chain at any point in time, by use of the app, can tell where a widow’s pension process – which is cyclical – is being lodged at, and the period for which it has been there;
The Office has 4) secured 2 vehicles for official rounds; 5) acquired a tricycle for Burma Camp errands; 6) renovated and painted the entire offices; and 7) furnished all the offices.
Her tenure also saw 8) each designated staff being provided with desktop and laptop computers for their work; 9) the broken down washrooms were fixed; 10) the entire compound of the department being paved; 11) sections of the compound being created for lawns and flowers; and 12) flowers in pots being provided for beautification of the offices;
Additionally, 13) lighting has been provided for all parts of the department; 14) all louvered windows have been replaced with glass sliding ones; 15) malfunctioning air-conditioners have been fixed; 16) new air-conditioners have been provided for offices; and 17) a good projector and screen, photocopier and a printer have been acquired;
With the help of Kingdom Books and Stationery Limited, 18) the Conference room has been furnished; 19) the kitchen has been expanded and modernized for use by the staff; 20) the canteen has been renovated; 21) door frames that termites had eaten have been repaired; 22) the Matambo has been re-done;
On the soft side, 23) her administration provided adequate training for the staff of the Directorate, ensuring that they joined the staff of the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for the needed training to better understand the software used for pension matters.
Col Tay, also 24) introduced a fit-for-purpose welfare scheme for staff and set an example of always being the first to contribute her quota, adopting lower-income personnel and topping up their contributions.
She also 25) introduced a scheme for staff nursing mothers and another for men to encourage them to step in for babies to be weaned from breastfeeding.
Her staff credits her with consciously building a team, ensuring physical and emotional leadership, and providing all necessary support, with her motto for the office: “IF NOT ME, WHO? IF NOT NOW, WHEN?”, inspiring the staff to take responsibility of their mandate timeously.
Several of her colleague Senior Officers, were present at the inauguration and celebration of the Directorate’s new signage.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
