NPP concerned over waves in military

....as Jake alerts Addo-Kufuor

An inter-ministerial memo sighted by the Ghanaian Chronicle suggests that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is sitting on tenterhooks, as it has been alerted of waves in the military that can lead to an insurrection.

Reeling from the looming disruption, the government proposed some pre-emptive measures way back in January this year, and some observers say the retirement of 250 old military personnel has been planned ostensibly to diffuse the tension.

The memo signed and dispatched on 25 January by Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister for Presidential Affairs, to Dr Addo Kufuor, the Minister for Defence, said the mounting tension in the military, if not checked, may ?become a problem leading into the notorious ?boom? expressed by the previous president.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey, indicated in the memo that he had been informed that ?in the military the other ranks are not too happy. One Lance Corporal says that there is serious ?whom-you-know? going on over promotion, etc.? Though he quoted the soldiers as conceding that the ?whom-you-know? phenomena had been in the military from of old, the minister noted their concern that ?it is very rife currently and if not checked, may become a problem.?

The note with reference number PAM/RN/VI/I was copied to the National Security Council, Accra and the National Security Coordinator, Accra. The growing anxiety among the general populace seems to be disturbing the Presidency seriously. The letter hinted at swift moves to test the feelings of the civilian population and address their concerns. ?We are in the process of extracting and compiling reports on attitudes to the government from the district level,? Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey told Dr Kufuor.

The worry of the Presidential Affairs Minister looks induced by Ghana?s political history. The Progress Party (PP) which metamorphosed into the New Patriotic Party, was overthrown by the military in January 1972 when it was only two years and three months in office. And coup d?etat was hatched after months of public agitations and murmurs from the barracks.

Indeed, the coup leader, Col Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, who subsequently ruled as head of State for six years, in his maiden speech, claimed that, ?the few amenities the military enjoyed had been taken away from them. This and other trivial excuses, he said, prompted him to stage the coup.

The third Republican government that the People?s National Party (PNP) formed under President Hilla Limann was toppled by ex-Flt Lt Jerry Rawlings. He also cited bad governance and growing impoverishment of the civilian population as well as shabby treatment of the military as compelling reasons for his coup.

Beginning last year 4 June, Mr Rawlings who had retired after ruling Ghana from 1982 to 2002 has been claiming conditions for disruptions of civil rule are building up. Twice at ceremonies to mark the 4 June 1979 military uprising, Mr Rawlings has accused the NPP government of nepotism and creating conditions for coup d?etat.

Even the retirement of military personnel who have passed active service age has been misconstrued by him and his followers as elimination of some officers to be replaced by NPP functionaries. Whether such skewed up interpretations will have any effect on the thinking of the poorly remunerated military, the moves by Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey?s office looks poised to take no chance.