PERMANENT GARRISONS AND AIRSTRIPS TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ALL REGIONS (Center Lead)

22-04-10

Story: Mary Mensah
Permanent garrisons and airstrips are to be established in the regions where there are none to speed up security response in times of emergency or trouble.
Already a new garrison has been established in Bawku to manage and contain the violence in that part of the country while plans are also underway to have permanent military presence in the Upper West, Central and the Eastern regions.
Taking his turn at the Meet-the-Press series in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General J. H. Smith, said plans were also far advanced to provide every military person with a personal weapon.
He said the government was actively trying to secure funding for the purchase of a new fleet of armoured vehicles, engineer equipment, personal weapons and gear and naval boats among others for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to enable them to respond quickly to situations.
Lt Gen Smith said the nation’s ability to create safe and secured environment to facilitate the oil and gas exploration would depend on the ability of the Ghana Air Force to establish air dominance over the areas of operations.
He indicated that Ghana had been relatively stable over the past few years but might not be insulated completely from the lingering northern conflict, drug trade, armed robbery, the exploitation of marine resources by foreign poachers and environmental degradation, which underscored the need to come up with strategies to secure the new oil and gas industry.
He said the Gulf of Guinea suffered from pervasive insecurity, which resulted in financial losses of $2 billion a year.
Lt. Gen. Smith said the maritime security should be well resourced by way of provision of surveillance equipment and the enforcement of relevant international conventions to which Ghana was signatory.
“The Ghana Armed Forces at all times should be professionally ready to meet the envisaged threats of chieftaincy disputes, land disputes, ethnic conflicts coup d’etat, natural disasters, among others, to safeguard our national interest,” the minister said.
On the way forward for the GAF, the minister stated that the Defence Ministry had designed a three-phased programme to revamp the GAF by the year 2025.
Already, he said, a board was in place to work out the technical details and the cost component.
He said Ghana’s contribution towards global peace and security was demonstrated by its massive participation in external peacekeeping operations.
So far there are five troops participating in La Cote d’ Ivoire, Liberia, DR Congo, Chad and Lebanon.
Additionally there are military observers and skeletal staff officers in other peacekeeping operations.
Brigadier General Smith said currently 3,250 troops were deployed for peace support operations in the five listed missions.
To that end, he said, regular pre-operations training were routinely organised at the Bundaase Training Camp to coincide with the rotation schedules of the UN missions.
He asserted that serious efforts were being made to improve the logistical and infrastructure base of the ministry to provide some descent living and office accommodation for the military personnel.
He said the ministry would improve upon the combat readiness of the Army, Navy and the Air Force through the provision of major and strategic equipment requirement and conduct intensive sea and air patrols in the country’s territorial waters and air space especially the fisheries grounds and the newly discovered oil fields to protect the nation’s maritime assets.
“The Ministry of Defence (MOD) you see operating from the square has already expanded its vision and its horizons into influencing change, acting as a force for good in the region and strengthening the maritime dimensions of Ghana’s security. MOD is mentally and physically engaged in forging partnership that ensures the effective security and public safety of Ghana,” he said.
He said his vision for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) since he assumed office was to shift it from its old familiar paradigm into an energetic and useful force that was ready to confront the newer frontiers of defence in the 21st Century.