The Minister for Defence, Lieutenant-General Joseph Henry Smith, on Friday urged the Ghana Armed Forces to collaborate with other security agencies in the country to ensure successful and peaceful elections in December.
He said Ghana had gone through successful elections five times since the Fourth Republican began and the Military and that Police Service in particular had enjoyed cordial collaboration. Therefore this year's elections should not be an exception.
Lt. Gen. Smith made these remarks during a working visit to the Second Garrison Command in Takoradi in the Western Region, to acquaint himself with the preparedness of the Military towards the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
He said Ghana's democratic credentials had been acknowledged worldwide and had become a benchmark for most African countries. "Therefore it is time for us to consolidate the gains made so far and demonstrate to the international community that we have come of age."
Lt-Gen. Smith assured the men in uniform that government would not renege on its pledge of ensuring free, fair and transparent elections so that the outcome of the polls would be acceptable to all the stakeholders involved.
He said government for the past four years had shown commitment towards the Military's needs by equipping them with all the necessary logistics to enable them to execute their mandate effectively and efficiently.
For instance, the Navy had benefitted from six speed vessels purchased from the People's Republic of China for effective surveillance of the country’s maritime domain, as well as protecting the territorial jurisdiction from piracy, poaching, trafficking of narcotics, smuggling, bunkering and other illegal activities that could threaten the peace and stability of the nation.
The Minister added that government had ordered more military accoutrements such as metal helmets, parachutes and other mechanized equipment to safeguard the safety of the personnel during operations.
He announced that government had acquired 295 new vehicles for the military that would be distributed to all the garrisons across the country to improve their operations, adding that all the reception medical stations of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) would be refurbished to improve service delivery.
He said government had also secured funding for the expansion of the 37 Military Hospital in Accra whilst a new Military hospital would soon be constructed in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region to serve the military garrisons in the northern sector of the country.
On welfare, the Minister assured them that the ongoing construction of buildings with a 50-million-dollar Chinese loan facility would soon be completed to provide comfortable accommodation for the Military.
He assured the military that the Defence Industrial Holding Company (DIHOC) programme in Kumasi would provide the necessary expertise and skills to the Military personnel to manufacture leather, sew their own uniforms and rear livestock, which would be a source of employment for both the retired service men and civilians.
This, he said, would enable the GAF to produce most of their equipment locally to generate employment opportunities in the country.
The Defence Minster used his vist to inspect some ongoing military projects in the Region.