Work begins on national barracks regeneration project
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for work to begin on the national barracks regeneration project.
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The project, which is in fulfilment of the government’s 2016 manifesto pledge, is aimed at improving the living conditions of security personnel, through the rehabilitation and upgrading of the barracks and their living quarters.
Already the government has released GH¢26 million for the take-off of the project.
Addressing his maiden durbar of officers and other ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at Burma Camp last Friday as the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, President Akufo-Addo said the government was aware of the huge accommodation deficits in all the garrisons of the GAF and said work was currently ongoing to improve the situation.
“As a start, the SSNIT housing projects for troops that started in 2007, but stalled when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government left power in 2009, have been revived. The Ministry of Finance is processing outstanding debts owed to contractors, and, very soon, they will resume and complete work on the projects,” he said to a spontaneous applause from the gathering.
Additionally, the government has initiated action to complete the military hospital at Afari in Kumasi and build a new one in Tamale to cater for the northern sector.
All things being equal, the sod for the construction of the hospital is scheduled to be cut in August 2017. The third phase of the 37 Military Hospital is also scheduled to take place.
President Akufo-Addo recognised that the deficits being faced by the military establishment were not limited only to the area of infrastructure.
“There are critical funding deficits in all your undertakings, and the government is determined to address these deficits to bolster your operational effectiveness. The funding, training and equipment of our
Special Forces must be urgently improved to enable us to deal with the ever present threat of terrorism.
“Our maritime boundaries must, again, as a matter of urgency, be better protected. Our peace-keeping operations in D R Congo (MONUSCO), South Sudan (UNMISS) and Mali (MINUSMA GHAV) all need more resources,”President Akufo-Addo stated.
Keep up good work
Applauding the military for its contributions to the maintenance of law and order in the country, President Akufo-Addo urged them to keep up the good work to maintain the stable environment needed for economic growth and development.
He commended the military for the professionalism and discipline that was exhibited during the recent traumatic event of the murder of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, and the national revulsion and outcry that it ignited.
“It was a trying time for the whole country, and the mature handling of the situation has certainly enhanced your reputation.
“You have won the respect of your fellow citizens, and positioned yourselves as an institution whose standards are worthy of emulation by the larger society. You continue to earn the gratitude of a nation for whose defence you are prepared to lay down your lives,” he added.
The President said in the six months since the good people of Ghana, including members of the Ghana Armed Forces, voted him into office as the President of the Republic; the military had displayed a keen sense of professionalism in all they had done.
Insulation from partisan politics
President Akufo-Addo said an important ingredient in a functioning military in a democracy was to ensure that the military was insulated from partisan politics.
“We must all be grateful to the Almighty that there is now a firm and widespread consensus in our country that the military takes its powers from the elected civilian government,” he said.
For that reason, the President underscored the need for all Ghanaians to guard against the politicisation of the military by political parties.
“To borrow a term from a famous British Prime Minister, the greasy pole of politics has no place and should not have any place in the military. We do not want NPP soldiers, nor do we want National Democratic Congress (NDC) soldiers. We want Ghanaian soldiers, who will serve any government, duly elected by the Ghanaian people, with equal zeal and loyalty,” he added.
To those in the military who wanted to do politics, President Akufo-Addo said: “You are very welcome, but please remember first to take off your uniforms and lay down your state-issued arms.”
Technology
Touching on the current realities of everyday life and the role of technology, he said it was a salutary lesson that all public officials were learning that there were not many private spaces in the world these days.
“The ubiquitous smartphone means that your every word and your every action is likely to be recorded for broadcast. Members of the military would do well also to remember this,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo also urged the hierarchy of the military to review constantly some of the practices that used to define the military.
“What would have passed for and been acceptable as rough language and punishment is intolerable in today’s world, and should be discarded, no matter how attractive it might have been in a bygone era.
“The reality of social media must always be kept in mind and ways to adapt found, rather than hark to the old days when the affairs of the barracks were kept strictly in the barracks,” he added.
