Story: Michael Donkor
A CHANGE within the top brass of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) which will see the appointment and retirement of some senior officers is expected to be announced soon.
Daily Graphic sources indicate that three of the four service chiefs of the Military High Command will be affected.
Those being considered for higher appointment include Major-General Carl Modey, Major-General Samuel Odotei and Major-General A.K. Abdulai, one of whom would be considered for the position of Chief of the Defence Staff.
According to highly placed sources in the transition team of the new government, the names had already been submitted to the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, for consideration and approval.
Others are Brigadier-General Emmanuel Okyere, Brig-Gen T.K. Opoku and Brig-Gen R.O Sackey, one of whom is to be considered as the Chief of Army Staff.
Commodore G.M. Biekro, the Chief Staff Officer at the Navy Headquarters; Commodore F. Daley, the Navy Commander in Takoradi; Commodore Michael Quarshie of the Eastern Naval Command and Commodore Muniru Tahiru are being considered for the position of Chief of Naval Staff, while Air Commodore Michael Sampson-Oje, the Air Force Base Commander in Takoradi; Air Commodore E.R. Krakue, the Air Force Base Commander in Accra, and Air Commodore I.S. Kadiri are being considered for the position of Chief of Air Staff.
The sources said Brig-Gen K. Oppong Kyekye and Brigadier-Gen R. Debrah are being considered for the position of General Officer Commanding the Northern Command, while Brig-Gen John Fokuo and Brig-Gen H.W Agbenuza are being considered for the position of General Officer Commanding the Southern Command.
Major-General Modey is currently the Deputy Force Commander serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia, while Major-General Odotei is the current Chief of Army Staff.
The sources disclosed that the most favoured for the position is Major-General Odotei, who has demonstrated a high sense of professionalism, competence and loyalty to the Constitution of the country.
They said apart from that he had had several training programmes and courses, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, and served on numerous United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, the latest of which was as a Sector Commander with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.
He was also appointed the Chief Staff Officer at the General Headquarters of the GAF.
Brig-Gen Okyere is the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command, while Brig-Gen Opoku is the Commandant of the Support Services Brigade.
Commodore Tahiru is currently the Chief Defence Adviser in Cairo, Egypt, while Brig-Gen Sackey is the Commandant of the Military Academy and Training School.
The sources said the change in the command structure was being quickened in conformity with the regulations of the GAF and in fulfilment of the 1992 Constitution.
They said presently the service commanders had finished preparing their handing-over notes and were waiting to hand them over.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
WITHHOLD PROMOTIONS AND RECENT DEFENCE POSTINGS TRANSITION TEAM RECOMMENDS(FRONT PAGE) January 14, 2009
Story: Michael Donkor
Recent promotions made in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), as well as defence attaché postings made to foreign missions, are likely to be put on hold as a result of complaints of irregularities.
Sources close to the transition team on National Security disclosed to the Daily Graphic that this and other recommendations were to be made to President John Atta Mills, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, after the transition team had reviewed the new promotions and postings and received complaints of irregularities about some of the postings and the manner in which the exercise was undertaken.
The postings and promotions were made on December 22, 2008, two weeks before President Mills was sworn into office, and that of the promotions took effect on December 31, 2008 while the postings takes effect on January 31, 2009.
The promotions and the postings had already been published by the GAF in their restricted letters and copies given to all the service chiefs, according to service regulations.
Consequently, National Security has requested for all the documents pertaining to the processes of the postings for further scrutiny.
At the time of filing this report, National Security had received most of the documents covering the postings and promotions from the Military High Command and had held discussions with the military leadership to discuss the irregularities found.
The source said the meeting affirmed that as a disciplined entity, it was important for the GAF to maintain such discipline within the rank and file of the officers and men of the service, for which reason acts that were likely to break down that discipline and create disenchantment among the personnel were not supposed to be entertained.
It said President Mills’s administration was poised to maintain a high level of discipline and fairness and meet the needs of the Armed Forces to enable them to perform creditably and hold the flag of Ghana very high among the comity of nations.
It said, for instance, that some of the officers being posted as defence attaches were junior to those who were going to serve under them.
Another source close to the Military High Command, however, told the Daily Graphic that the due processes were followed in making those promotions and postings and that there was no cause for alarm.
It said all the service chiefs signed the lists for the promotions and postings, after which the then Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, gave his assent to it on December 29, 2008.
The source said the postings and promotions were also in order and in accordance with GAF regulations, adding that they met all the constitutional requirements of the GAF and that the announcement of the appointments and promotions had been delayed because of presidential run-off which had diverted the attention of the whole country.
The source explained that promotions and postings within the GAF were a routine and that every year two of such moves were undertaken.
It stated that this was not the first time that the announcement of such moves had been delayed, citing the year 2000 when the National Democratic Congress was about to hand over power to the New Patriotic Party and said similar postings and promotions were announced a day before the handing-over ceremony.
Recent promotions made in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), as well as defence attaché postings made to foreign missions, are likely to be put on hold as a result of complaints of irregularities.
Sources close to the transition team on National Security disclosed to the Daily Graphic that this and other recommendations were to be made to President John Atta Mills, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, after the transition team had reviewed the new promotions and postings and received complaints of irregularities about some of the postings and the manner in which the exercise was undertaken.
The postings and promotions were made on December 22, 2008, two weeks before President Mills was sworn into office, and that of the promotions took effect on December 31, 2008 while the postings takes effect on January 31, 2009.
The promotions and the postings had already been published by the GAF in their restricted letters and copies given to all the service chiefs, according to service regulations.
Consequently, National Security has requested for all the documents pertaining to the processes of the postings for further scrutiny.
At the time of filing this report, National Security had received most of the documents covering the postings and promotions from the Military High Command and had held discussions with the military leadership to discuss the irregularities found.
The source said the meeting affirmed that as a disciplined entity, it was important for the GAF to maintain such discipline within the rank and file of the officers and men of the service, for which reason acts that were likely to break down that discipline and create disenchantment among the personnel were not supposed to be entertained.
It said President Mills’s administration was poised to maintain a high level of discipline and fairness and meet the needs of the Armed Forces to enable them to perform creditably and hold the flag of Ghana very high among the comity of nations.
It said, for instance, that some of the officers being posted as defence attaches were junior to those who were going to serve under them.
Another source close to the Military High Command, however, told the Daily Graphic that the due processes were followed in making those promotions and postings and that there was no cause for alarm.
It said all the service chiefs signed the lists for the promotions and postings, after which the then Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, gave his assent to it on December 29, 2008.
The source said the postings and promotions were also in order and in accordance with GAF regulations, adding that they met all the constitutional requirements of the GAF and that the announcement of the appointments and promotions had been delayed because of presidential run-off which had diverted the attention of the whole country.
The source explained that promotions and postings within the GAF were a routine and that every year two of such moves were undertaken.
It stated that this was not the first time that the announcement of such moves had been delayed, citing the year 2000 when the National Democratic Congress was about to hand over power to the New Patriotic Party and said similar postings and promotions were announced a day before the handing-over ceremony.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
More debates on Kufuor's proposal( centre spread), January 9, 2009
Story: Michael Donkor
THE proposal by the Immediate Past President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, for the extension of the tenure of office of future presidents and the regulation of the term of members of the Electoral Commission (EC) has engendered debate among civil society organisations, academicians and some participants at this year’s New Year School.
Reacting to the proposal in an interview in Accra, Mr Laary Bimi, the Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and two senior accademicians of the university of Ghana, Prof Kwame Boafo-Arthur, the Head of the Political Science Department, and Dr Raymond Atugubah, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, disagreed with the suggestions.
Mr Bimi argued that it was too early to start tampering with the Constitution and explained that since the Constitution came into being, the country had had only two former Presidents so it was too early to start talking about amending it.
Mr Bimi argued that the country needed to test the Constitution against the experiences of more presidents, a situation which called for patience and tolerance, and suggested that more governments should be allowed to practise the Constitution for at least a generation and that the present generation should pass it on to the next generation for it to decide whether they would want to amend it or not.
He noted that the country had more pressing issues, such as poverty reduction and other social challenges, which should be tackled with its meagre resources, instead of spending those resources on constitutional amendments for the extension of the tenure of office of the President or fixing a tenure for the EC.
On the suggestion to elect the chairmen of the EC with fixed tenures through an electoral college, Mr Bimi said it should be considered against the country’s history and made reference to a period during the era of Gen Kutu Acheampong when the Electoral Commissioner, Mr Justice Abban, came under intense pressure from the power brokers and had to escape.
He said that, coupled with other pressures that came to bear on subsequent ECs, might have informed the Constituent Assembly to structure the EC in its current form.
Mr Bimi said if the current EC and Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan had not been so insulated by the Constitution, they could not have exhibited the resolve they displayed and Ghana would not have had peaceful elections.
He said Dr Afari-Gyan’s work and pronouncements before the Tain election were what saved the country from a catastrophe because, according to him, until then there was mutual suspicion that the election results were being massaged in favour of one party and if the results had been declared in full then, the reactions would have been uncontrollable.
He said Dr Afari-Gyan was able to manage the situation successfully not only because of his intellectual capacity but also his secured tenure of office.
He recalled that as Chairman of the NCCE, he himself had served two years under former President Rawlings and eight years under former President Kufuor but neither of them ever tried to influence him.
Mr Bimi said that was the beauty of the democracy the country was endeavouring to build.
He said one did not need to be on a job for six years to win public trust and that one could be in a job for a day or a week and still win public trust.
Prof Boafo-Arthur said the four-year term of office had worked very well for the country since democracy was re-introduced in Ghana in 1992 and should be maintained.
He noted that presidents were human beings and fatigue, as well as shortage of ideas, could set in during their tenure and so the four-year, two-term arrangement was enough.
He said Ghana was imitating other democracies, such as that of the US, which also had four-year terms for their presidents and it had worked very well for them, explaining that if Ghana was imitating the US, then there was no need to extend it.
Prof Boafo-Arthur said personally he felt that the four-year, two-term tenure was enough to ensure that no President stayed in office too long to begin to think that the seat was his personal property.
He said once the country’s democracy had been institutionalised, there would be continuity.
He, however, commended former President Kufuor for making those suggestions but said if they were desirable, they should not come from one person.
He said although the proposal was coming from someone who had been the President of the country and served his two terms, with his party losing the 2008 presidential election, it was necessary for it to be looked at from a very dispassionate angle.
On chairmen of the EC, Prof Boafo-Arthur said there might be a reason President Kufuor called for a fixed term of office for them and also be elected by an electoral college.
He said the current Chairman of the EC, Dr Afari-Gyan, was doing his work to the best of his ability.
He said that could be justified from the way he had conducted elections in the country which had seen one government handing over power to the opposition on two occasions.
He said if there was no security and independence of members of the EC, their neutrality would have been compromised by politicians by now.
For his part, Dr Atugubah said one should not be a President if he did not have an agenda.
He said that agenda should be known to Ghanaians and once it was good and followed by a sitting President, he would be successful and his mandate would surely be renewed by the electorate when it ended for him to complete the two terms.
He said it was only when a country had a bad President that he would be voted out of office after his first term and argued that the four-year two-term tenure was enough.
Dr Atugubah noted that if the term office of a President was extended unduly, considering the country’s recent history, one might be inviting other means to change an unpopular government other than constitutional means.
He referred to the US and said the tenure of office of the President there was four years and that it was doing very well.
He said on members of the EC, their independence and security of office were very important for the development of the country’s democracy.
He said electing them and giving them a fixed term of office would only produce a lean commission and commissioners, adding that when that happened, there would always be pressure from the Executive on the EC to toe its line.
A Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr John Nyoagbe, said the extension of the term of the presidency from four to five years was a good idea, reports Emmanuel Bonney from the New Year School.
He said with a five-year renewable term, a new government could use the first year of its administration to settle down and use the rest of the period to do the actual work.
He said most often when a government assumed power, it had little time to settle down and had to rush to do things.
Another officer of GNAT, Mr Jacob Anderson, shared a similar view and was of the belief that with a five-year term a government should be able to deliver on most of its promises.
They both, however, kicked against the former President’s suggestion to have a fixed term of office for the commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC).
Such an idea, they said, was not good, as it would make the commissioners serve the interests of the governments that appointed them.
Mr Theophilus Kojo Hagan, who described himself as a chief citizen, said the Constituent Assembly that fixed the term for the presidency at four years knew what it was about and, therefore, the four years should be maintained.
“The members of the assembly were intelligent people and had good intentions to make the term for the presidency four years renewable,” he said.
Mr Paul Nyarko, a teacher, also disagreed with the idea of a five-year term, adding that “some politicians can take advantage of the situation to amass wealth at the expense of the poor”.
He said the four-year renewable term should be maintained so that politicians would not become power drunk.
For Mr Raymond Ayroe, a retired teacher, the four-year term was good, as it would put politicians on their toes to start delivering as soon as they assumed office so that they could get another mandate from the people.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Spokesperson for President John Evans Atta Mills, for his part, said although the NDC administration had a different view of the constitutional reviews suggested by former President Kufuor, it would not dismiss them outright, reports Donald Ato Dapatem.
He said President Kufuor made those suggestions from his observations and experience gathered over the years as President for eight years and 40 years of active political life, as well as an elderly statesman, adding that suggestions from such a personality should not be dismissed entirely.
Mr Ayariga said Prof Mills campaigned on the basis of winning power and fulfilling the promises made within the four-year mandate prescribed by the Constitution and so based on those promises and the constitutional arrangements the NDC would not hesitate to make any such review.
However, he said as was promised during the NDC campaign, the Mills government would institute measures for some constitutional reviews during the early stages of its term and that during discussions if the NPP found it feasible to raise such issues, in addition to what the NDC would bring up,, they would be welcomed.
According to Mr Ayariga, there was nothing wrong with the members of the EC that warranted a specific tenure of office for them.
He argued that the issue with the electoral process was purely acts of lawlessness on the part of some electorate and candidates, which had nothing to do with the behaviour and tenure of any of the EC members.
He said some of the problems associated with election malpractice include under-age voting, double registration, double voting, as well as chaotic behaviour at the polling stations.
He said all those acts were criminal offences which EC officials had little authority to stop.
He said it was the security agencies that had the power and authority to cause arrests in such instances because they were criminal offences.
THE proposal by the Immediate Past President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, for the extension of the tenure of office of future presidents and the regulation of the term of members of the Electoral Commission (EC) has engendered debate among civil society organisations, academicians and some participants at this year’s New Year School.
Reacting to the proposal in an interview in Accra, Mr Laary Bimi, the Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and two senior accademicians of the university of Ghana, Prof Kwame Boafo-Arthur, the Head of the Political Science Department, and Dr Raymond Atugubah, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, disagreed with the suggestions.
Mr Bimi argued that it was too early to start tampering with the Constitution and explained that since the Constitution came into being, the country had had only two former Presidents so it was too early to start talking about amending it.
Mr Bimi argued that the country needed to test the Constitution against the experiences of more presidents, a situation which called for patience and tolerance, and suggested that more governments should be allowed to practise the Constitution for at least a generation and that the present generation should pass it on to the next generation for it to decide whether they would want to amend it or not.
He noted that the country had more pressing issues, such as poverty reduction and other social challenges, which should be tackled with its meagre resources, instead of spending those resources on constitutional amendments for the extension of the tenure of office of the President or fixing a tenure for the EC.
On the suggestion to elect the chairmen of the EC with fixed tenures through an electoral college, Mr Bimi said it should be considered against the country’s history and made reference to a period during the era of Gen Kutu Acheampong when the Electoral Commissioner, Mr Justice Abban, came under intense pressure from the power brokers and had to escape.
He said that, coupled with other pressures that came to bear on subsequent ECs, might have informed the Constituent Assembly to structure the EC in its current form.
Mr Bimi said if the current EC and Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan had not been so insulated by the Constitution, they could not have exhibited the resolve they displayed and Ghana would not have had peaceful elections.
He said Dr Afari-Gyan’s work and pronouncements before the Tain election were what saved the country from a catastrophe because, according to him, until then there was mutual suspicion that the election results were being massaged in favour of one party and if the results had been declared in full then, the reactions would have been uncontrollable.
He said Dr Afari-Gyan was able to manage the situation successfully not only because of his intellectual capacity but also his secured tenure of office.
He recalled that as Chairman of the NCCE, he himself had served two years under former President Rawlings and eight years under former President Kufuor but neither of them ever tried to influence him.
Mr Bimi said that was the beauty of the democracy the country was endeavouring to build.
He said one did not need to be on a job for six years to win public trust and that one could be in a job for a day or a week and still win public trust.
Prof Boafo-Arthur said the four-year term of office had worked very well for the country since democracy was re-introduced in Ghana in 1992 and should be maintained.
He noted that presidents were human beings and fatigue, as well as shortage of ideas, could set in during their tenure and so the four-year, two-term arrangement was enough.
He said Ghana was imitating other democracies, such as that of the US, which also had four-year terms for their presidents and it had worked very well for them, explaining that if Ghana was imitating the US, then there was no need to extend it.
Prof Boafo-Arthur said personally he felt that the four-year, two-term tenure was enough to ensure that no President stayed in office too long to begin to think that the seat was his personal property.
He said once the country’s democracy had been institutionalised, there would be continuity.
He, however, commended former President Kufuor for making those suggestions but said if they were desirable, they should not come from one person.
He said although the proposal was coming from someone who had been the President of the country and served his two terms, with his party losing the 2008 presidential election, it was necessary for it to be looked at from a very dispassionate angle.
On chairmen of the EC, Prof Boafo-Arthur said there might be a reason President Kufuor called for a fixed term of office for them and also be elected by an electoral college.
He said the current Chairman of the EC, Dr Afari-Gyan, was doing his work to the best of his ability.
He said that could be justified from the way he had conducted elections in the country which had seen one government handing over power to the opposition on two occasions.
He said if there was no security and independence of members of the EC, their neutrality would have been compromised by politicians by now.
For his part, Dr Atugubah said one should not be a President if he did not have an agenda.
He said that agenda should be known to Ghanaians and once it was good and followed by a sitting President, he would be successful and his mandate would surely be renewed by the electorate when it ended for him to complete the two terms.
He said it was only when a country had a bad President that he would be voted out of office after his first term and argued that the four-year two-term tenure was enough.
Dr Atugubah noted that if the term office of a President was extended unduly, considering the country’s recent history, one might be inviting other means to change an unpopular government other than constitutional means.
He referred to the US and said the tenure of office of the President there was four years and that it was doing very well.
He said on members of the EC, their independence and security of office were very important for the development of the country’s democracy.
He said electing them and giving them a fixed term of office would only produce a lean commission and commissioners, adding that when that happened, there would always be pressure from the Executive on the EC to toe its line.
A Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr John Nyoagbe, said the extension of the term of the presidency from four to five years was a good idea, reports Emmanuel Bonney from the New Year School.
He said with a five-year renewable term, a new government could use the first year of its administration to settle down and use the rest of the period to do the actual work.
He said most often when a government assumed power, it had little time to settle down and had to rush to do things.
Another officer of GNAT, Mr Jacob Anderson, shared a similar view and was of the belief that with a five-year term a government should be able to deliver on most of its promises.
They both, however, kicked against the former President’s suggestion to have a fixed term of office for the commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC).
Such an idea, they said, was not good, as it would make the commissioners serve the interests of the governments that appointed them.
Mr Theophilus Kojo Hagan, who described himself as a chief citizen, said the Constituent Assembly that fixed the term for the presidency at four years knew what it was about and, therefore, the four years should be maintained.
“The members of the assembly were intelligent people and had good intentions to make the term for the presidency four years renewable,” he said.
Mr Paul Nyarko, a teacher, also disagreed with the idea of a five-year term, adding that “some politicians can take advantage of the situation to amass wealth at the expense of the poor”.
He said the four-year renewable term should be maintained so that politicians would not become power drunk.
For Mr Raymond Ayroe, a retired teacher, the four-year term was good, as it would put politicians on their toes to start delivering as soon as they assumed office so that they could get another mandate from the people.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Spokesperson for President John Evans Atta Mills, for his part, said although the NDC administration had a different view of the constitutional reviews suggested by former President Kufuor, it would not dismiss them outright, reports Donald Ato Dapatem.
He said President Kufuor made those suggestions from his observations and experience gathered over the years as President for eight years and 40 years of active political life, as well as an elderly statesman, adding that suggestions from such a personality should not be dismissed entirely.
Mr Ayariga said Prof Mills campaigned on the basis of winning power and fulfilling the promises made within the four-year mandate prescribed by the Constitution and so based on those promises and the constitutional arrangements the NDC would not hesitate to make any such review.
However, he said as was promised during the NDC campaign, the Mills government would institute measures for some constitutional reviews during the early stages of its term and that during discussions if the NPP found it feasible to raise such issues, in addition to what the NDC would bring up,, they would be welcomed.
According to Mr Ayariga, there was nothing wrong with the members of the EC that warranted a specific tenure of office for them.
He argued that the issue with the electoral process was purely acts of lawlessness on the part of some electorate and candidates, which had nothing to do with the behaviour and tenure of any of the EC members.
He said some of the problems associated with election malpractice include under-age voting, double registration, double voting, as well as chaotic behaviour at the polling stations.
He said all those acts were criminal offences which EC officials had little authority to stop.
He said it was the security agencies that had the power and authority to cause arrests in such instances because they were criminal offences.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Security beefed up at national installations(Page three) December 31, 2008
Story: Michael Donkor
SECURITY has been beefed up at all national installations as part of measures to protect them from potential troublemakers who may engage in some post-election excesses.
The joint police/military patrols have also been intensified, with the Military High Command increasing military presence at some flash points to ensure that lives and property are also protected.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J.B. Danquah, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, appealed for public co-operation to enable the security services to maintain the peace in the country.
He also appealed to the leadership of the political parties to use the law courts to contest any flaws they might have identified with the electoral process and avoid mobilising their supporters onto the streets to protest.
He said for those who might want to jubilate, it was important for them to do so peacefully, without taking the law into their own hands.
Lt Gen Danquah said other security measures had been devised to ensure that the peace and tranquillity that the country enjoyed was sustained.
He gave the assurance that the military would do everything possible to defend and uphold the Constitution of the country at all times.
Lt Gen Danquah reminded Ghanaians that there was no Ghana anywhere for them to go to and that they should all join in the fight to resist any attempt by any self-seeker to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the country.
Meanwhile, the National Elections Security Task Force has warned the public against lawlessness and acts of vandalism.
It said the task force would continue the joint police/military patrols to strengthen security in the aftermath of the election to ensure the safety of lives and property and the promotion of general security.
A statement signed by DSP Kwesi Ofori, the Director of Police Public Affairs, called on the public to remain calm and support the police to maintain peace, law and order in the country.
It said the task force and operational units were being deployed to assist in maintaining public order and urged motorists to co-operate with the police in that respect.
It reminded the public that the Headquarters of the Electoral Commission was a restricted zone and that access to the roads leading to that place would be granted to emergency vehicles, vehicles of the EC, the security services and stakeholders only.
The statement further reminded the public that the Public Order Act required that any group of persons who wished to organise any public event had to inform the police five days before the day of the event.
It commended the public for their support so far in maintaining peace and order in the country.
SECURITY has been beefed up at all national installations as part of measures to protect them from potential troublemakers who may engage in some post-election excesses.
The joint police/military patrols have also been intensified, with the Military High Command increasing military presence at some flash points to ensure that lives and property are also protected.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J.B. Danquah, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, appealed for public co-operation to enable the security services to maintain the peace in the country.
He also appealed to the leadership of the political parties to use the law courts to contest any flaws they might have identified with the electoral process and avoid mobilising their supporters onto the streets to protest.
He said for those who might want to jubilate, it was important for them to do so peacefully, without taking the law into their own hands.
Lt Gen Danquah said other security measures had been devised to ensure that the peace and tranquillity that the country enjoyed was sustained.
He gave the assurance that the military would do everything possible to defend and uphold the Constitution of the country at all times.
Lt Gen Danquah reminded Ghanaians that there was no Ghana anywhere for them to go to and that they should all join in the fight to resist any attempt by any self-seeker to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the country.
Meanwhile, the National Elections Security Task Force has warned the public against lawlessness and acts of vandalism.
It said the task force would continue the joint police/military patrols to strengthen security in the aftermath of the election to ensure the safety of lives and property and the promotion of general security.
A statement signed by DSP Kwesi Ofori, the Director of Police Public Affairs, called on the public to remain calm and support the police to maintain peace, law and order in the country.
It said the task force and operational units were being deployed to assist in maintaining public order and urged motorists to co-operate with the police in that respect.
It reminded the public that the Headquarters of the Electoral Commission was a restricted zone and that access to the roads leading to that place would be granted to emergency vehicles, vehicles of the EC, the security services and stakeholders only.
The statement further reminded the public that the Public Order Act required that any group of persons who wished to organise any public event had to inform the police five days before the day of the event.
It commended the public for their support so far in maintaining peace and order in the country.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
War on pair trawling attracts diverse views(page three) December 18, 2008
Story: Michael Donkor
Fishermen in Accra have expressed diverse reactions towards moves by the government to declare war on pair trawling in the country’s territorial waters.
While some of them said the move was a positive step towards addressing the problem in the future others were of the opinion that it would be an exercise in futility, since the peak season during which they made heavy catch of fish had long passed.
According to them, the peak season for fishing was in late July, through to August and September, every year. The fishermen were randomly interviewed by the Daily Graphic.
Nii Lamptey Otu, a fisherman at Chokor, an Accra suburb, said the government’s intervention was a step in the right direction because of its long-term effect.
However, he said fishermen had to wait to enjoy the benefits of the government’s intervention.
Nii Otu said although it took the government some time to come to the aid of fishermen as far as pair trawling was concerned, it was better late than never because some of them had no other business but fishing.
Mr Oko Oblie welcomed the move and said with the new boats secured for the Ghana Navy and the subsequent publicity given, it would ward off those engaged in such illegal practices.
He said what was important now was for the Navy to patrol the sea constantly to ensure that those engaged in pair trawling were arrested and brought to book.
Mr Adjei Tettey said they had long been waiting for the government to do something about pair trawling but to no avail until the fishing season lapsed.
Mr Tettey said now that the government had come out with the intervention, they hoped that the security agencies, particularly the Navy, would live up to expectation.
He urged the government to intensify efforts to correct the situation for them to remain in business.
Mr Lantey Odoi on his part described the intervention as an exercise in futility.
He said what should have been done first was to withdraw the licence issued to some fishing companies to engage in pair trawling.
He said if the licence of those companies were not withdrawn the Navy’s patrolling of the sea would be an empty exercise.
Another fisherman, Nii Ayi Mensah, also said the intervention came too late.
He said he had lost his capital because on many occasions that he went to fishing, he could not harvest fish resulting in the waste of the fuel he had bought.
He said this raised his operation cost and finally the lost of his business capital.
Mr Samson Okaikoi called on the government to take another step to withdraw the licence of those companies that had been permitted to operate pair trawling on pilot basis and support the fishermen financially to bounce back to business.
The government announced last Monday that the Western Naval Command and the Ghana Air Force had embarked on an operation to protect the fish stock in the country’s territorial waters.
It said the move was to ensure that the country’s fishermen derived optimum benefit from the country’s marine resources and halt the depletion of the country’s fish stock by those engaged in pair trawling.
It said the exercise, code-named “Operation Stock Control” under the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, would ensure policing activities that would stop such activities in the country once and for all.
The government said the programme was also intended to provide the much needed relief for Ghanaian fishermen who had been subjected to severe harassment and considerable loss of income as a result of those illegal activities at sea.
It said under “Operation Stock Control”, the Ghana Navy had been equipped with three speedboats to patrol the country’s territorial waters.
It said the Navy would be assisted by the Ghana Air Force, which would fly its aircraft to prompt the Navy to the activities of pair trawlers.
Fishermen in Accra have expressed diverse reactions towards moves by the government to declare war on pair trawling in the country’s territorial waters.
While some of them said the move was a positive step towards addressing the problem in the future others were of the opinion that it would be an exercise in futility, since the peak season during which they made heavy catch of fish had long passed.
According to them, the peak season for fishing was in late July, through to August and September, every year. The fishermen were randomly interviewed by the Daily Graphic.
Nii Lamptey Otu, a fisherman at Chokor, an Accra suburb, said the government’s intervention was a step in the right direction because of its long-term effect.
However, he said fishermen had to wait to enjoy the benefits of the government’s intervention.
Nii Otu said although it took the government some time to come to the aid of fishermen as far as pair trawling was concerned, it was better late than never because some of them had no other business but fishing.
Mr Oko Oblie welcomed the move and said with the new boats secured for the Ghana Navy and the subsequent publicity given, it would ward off those engaged in such illegal practices.
He said what was important now was for the Navy to patrol the sea constantly to ensure that those engaged in pair trawling were arrested and brought to book.
Mr Adjei Tettey said they had long been waiting for the government to do something about pair trawling but to no avail until the fishing season lapsed.
Mr Tettey said now that the government had come out with the intervention, they hoped that the security agencies, particularly the Navy, would live up to expectation.
He urged the government to intensify efforts to correct the situation for them to remain in business.
Mr Lantey Odoi on his part described the intervention as an exercise in futility.
He said what should have been done first was to withdraw the licence issued to some fishing companies to engage in pair trawling.
He said if the licence of those companies were not withdrawn the Navy’s patrolling of the sea would be an empty exercise.
Another fisherman, Nii Ayi Mensah, also said the intervention came too late.
He said he had lost his capital because on many occasions that he went to fishing, he could not harvest fish resulting in the waste of the fuel he had bought.
He said this raised his operation cost and finally the lost of his business capital.
Mr Samson Okaikoi called on the government to take another step to withdraw the licence of those companies that had been permitted to operate pair trawling on pilot basis and support the fishermen financially to bounce back to business.
The government announced last Monday that the Western Naval Command and the Ghana Air Force had embarked on an operation to protect the fish stock in the country’s territorial waters.
It said the move was to ensure that the country’s fishermen derived optimum benefit from the country’s marine resources and halt the depletion of the country’s fish stock by those engaged in pair trawling.
It said the exercise, code-named “Operation Stock Control” under the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, would ensure policing activities that would stop such activities in the country once and for all.
The government said the programme was also intended to provide the much needed relief for Ghanaian fishermen who had been subjected to severe harassment and considerable loss of income as a result of those illegal activities at sea.
It said under “Operation Stock Control”, the Ghana Navy had been equipped with three speedboats to patrol the country’s territorial waters.
It said the Navy would be assisted by the Ghana Air Force, which would fly its aircraft to prompt the Navy to the activities of pair trawlers.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
NATO to Support African Union Standby Force(Page three) 24 September, 2008
Story: Michael Donkor
THE Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, has announced the organisation’s readiness to support the African Standby Force (ASF).
To that end, he said NATO was in close contact with the African Union (AU) and was ready to offer advice and assistance.
Mr Scheffer said this when he interacted with some senior military officials at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra on Thursday.
Mr Scheffer, who is in Ghana at the invitation of President John Agyekum Kufuor, said about two months ago, at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, he had met with President Kikwete, the Chairman of the African Union, to discuss how to take the NATO-AU relationship forward.
He said NATO’s 26-member countries had already consented to the move to support the ASF.
He said since the start of the AU Mission in the Sudan in June 2005, NATO had provided airlift support for some 31,000 troops and personnel, including almost 600 soldiers, military observers and policemen from Ghana.
He noted that that was truly the start of a new relationship between the AU and NATO.
Mr Scheffer said the military alliance could play an important role in training African soldiers to provide solutions to conflicts on the continent.
He ruled out a direct role for the alliance's troops in Africa and added that it was not in NATO's domain to police the world.
"NATO is not a global policeman and we do not intend to turn the organisation into that," he added.
Mr Scheffer gave the assurance that NATO would make its unique capabilities and expertise available to the wider international community and work with other nations and organisations in a comprehensive approach to come to terms with challenges which affected the world.
THE Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, has announced the organisation’s readiness to support the African Standby Force (ASF).
To that end, he said NATO was in close contact with the African Union (AU) and was ready to offer advice and assistance.
Mr Scheffer said this when he interacted with some senior military officials at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra on Thursday.
Mr Scheffer, who is in Ghana at the invitation of President John Agyekum Kufuor, said about two months ago, at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, he had met with President Kikwete, the Chairman of the African Union, to discuss how to take the NATO-AU relationship forward.
He said NATO’s 26-member countries had already consented to the move to support the ASF.
He said since the start of the AU Mission in the Sudan in June 2005, NATO had provided airlift support for some 31,000 troops and personnel, including almost 600 soldiers, military observers and policemen from Ghana.
He noted that that was truly the start of a new relationship between the AU and NATO.
Mr Scheffer said the military alliance could play an important role in training African soldiers to provide solutions to conflicts on the continent.
He ruled out a direct role for the alliance's troops in Africa and added that it was not in NATO's domain to police the world.
"NATO is not a global policeman and we do not intend to turn the organisation into that," he added.
Mr Scheffer gave the assurance that NATO would make its unique capabilities and expertise available to the wider international community and work with other nations and organisations in a comprehensive approach to come to terms with challenges which affected the world.
Be Worthy Partners of Peace, Security Agencies advised(Centre Spread) 24 September, 2008
Story:Michael Donkor
A member of the National Security Council, Naval Captain Ignatius Kwabena Ankobiah (retd), has urged personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to be worthy partners for peace and not to be seen as instruments of terror or brutality.
He also charged the officers and men to help in their own way to forge new civilian and military relationships by ensuring that the use of force was always in conformity with constitutional rights.
Naval Capt. Ankobiah made the call at the graduation ceremony of Junior Staff Course 55 at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra yesterday .
Those who graduated included officers from Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Togo.
Naval Captain Ankobiah said in the same vein that the personnel should be the instrument of transformation towards the building of a modern military force for the management of the challenges of the 21st century.
He urged them to endeavour to market the GAF as a vital and dependable institution of state.
Naval Capt Ankobiah said the clarion call for democracy and good governance was reverberating through the length and breadth of countries in the sub-region and the rest of the Africa.
He said as security personnel they were the guardians of the constitution.
He reminded them that the oath they took enjoined them to remain loyal to the state.
Naval Capt. Ankobiah asked the potential staff officers and commanders to master the rudiments of the profession and always be one step ahead of their subordinates at all times.
He said this called for self-education and higher academic development.
The Commandant of the GAFCSC, Major-Gen. Richardson Baiden, said the course had been designed to turn out modern officers who were conversant with the needs of the changing paradigm of defence and security matters.
He said the Command aimed at training selected officers to perform staff functions by developing their leadership, analytical and communication skills, while providing the foundation for their career development.
A member of the National Security Council, Naval Captain Ignatius Kwabena Ankobiah (retd), has urged personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to be worthy partners for peace and not to be seen as instruments of terror or brutality.
He also charged the officers and men to help in their own way to forge new civilian and military relationships by ensuring that the use of force was always in conformity with constitutional rights.
Naval Capt. Ankobiah made the call at the graduation ceremony of Junior Staff Course 55 at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra yesterday .
Those who graduated included officers from Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Togo.
Naval Captain Ankobiah said in the same vein that the personnel should be the instrument of transformation towards the building of a modern military force for the management of the challenges of the 21st century.
He urged them to endeavour to market the GAF as a vital and dependable institution of state.
Naval Capt Ankobiah said the clarion call for democracy and good governance was reverberating through the length and breadth of countries in the sub-region and the rest of the Africa.
He said as security personnel they were the guardians of the constitution.
He reminded them that the oath they took enjoined them to remain loyal to the state.
Naval Capt. Ankobiah asked the potential staff officers and commanders to master the rudiments of the profession and always be one step ahead of their subordinates at all times.
He said this called for self-education and higher academic development.
The Commandant of the GAFCSC, Major-Gen. Richardson Baiden, said the course had been designed to turn out modern officers who were conversant with the needs of the changing paradigm of defence and security matters.
He said the Command aimed at training selected officers to perform staff functions by developing their leadership, analytical and communication skills, while providing the foundation for their career development.
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