Defence Minister asks GAF to exhibit political neutrality

Accra, April 22, GNA - Personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have been tasked to exhibit strict political neutrality, high sense of professionalism and deep respect for the Constitution and the Ghanaian tax payer.

According to Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Joseph Henry Smith (Rtd) these are the qualities needed to ensure a paradigm shift in the GAF and transform it into an energetic force, that would confront the new frontiers of defence in the 21st century.

He was speaking in Accra during his maiden encounter with journalists as a minister, at the meet the press series of the government.

The military has since time in memorial been insulated from vigorous media scrutiny due to the sensitive nature of its role, but became important recently to demystify the institution.

Gen Smith said the military gave credence to education in the recruitment of personnel, adding that an uneducated soldier is dangerous to himself and others.

The Minister also expressed the need to equip the GAF appropriately.

"The new military will have to be ready to partner government especially with its engineering division to expand infrastructure and improve access to market," he said.

He noted that globalisation and its fast pace is moving the world through dramatic political, economic and social transformation and that Ghana must be part of the changes especially in the West African Sub-region.

He observed that though countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Burundi, Chad, Rwanda, DR Congo and La Cote d' Ivoire have been ravaged by bother disputes, ethnic conflicts and political upheavals, Ghana has been relatively peaceful.

Gen. Smith noted that the lingering Northern conflict, drug trafficking, armed robbery, the exploitation of maritime resources by foreign poachers, land disputes and political maladministration are signs that Ghana might not be insulated from such negative developments.

"We need to protect our precious and growing democracy," he said.

Gen. Smith said the Gulf of Guinea suffered from pervasive insecurity, which resulted in financial losses of two billion dollars annually.

He said the maritime security personnel should be well resourced with surveillance equipment in order to enforce the relevant international conventions, which Ghana was a signatory.

Gen. Smith suggested the need for the systematic strengthening of the maritime dimension of Ghana's security and make the boundaries clear at all times.

He said the challenges of the GAF lay in the areas of equipment, training institutions, accommodation, water and sewage, electricity and sanitation, land administration and operational facilities.

He said government would assist in solving these problems.