How we wish every year is an election year

The schemes and maneuverings of NPP politicians don’t seize to amaze me. These schemes and maneuverings couldn’t have been happening if the Ghanaian politician had respect for the citizenry and does not see them as a gullible bunch that can be easily manipulated and deceived.

I have observed with much amusement the desperate interventions that have been rolled out by the Government of Ghana as the December 7, 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary elections draw nigh.

First was the LEAP which ensures a hand out of between 8-15 Ghana Cedis to poor households – though this is an admission of Government’s failure in bettering the living standards of our people, the NPP Government weighed this as against the political capital and chose the latter, since the poor LEAP beneficiaries might be forced to say thank you to NPP on December 7. Never mind what the analysts say even about human dignity and the failings of hand-outs everywhere in the world.

The LEAP was just the beginning, President Kufuor returned from the United Kingdom with a 42 million Pounds assistance for Ghana’s health sector. He subsequently announced a free medical care package for all pregnant women and his Minister for Women and Children Affairs had no shame in organizing a durbar for women to mob the President and thank him.

Again the politicians, didn’t care about the disgrace this had brought to Ghana. For seven years, women were detained for several months after delivery because they couldn’t afford. Their children came into this world and the first welcome package Ghana could give them was a criminal record. Don’t forget that these detained ones were even lucky as 540 of their colleagues die per every 1000 births because of the poor health delivery system. Though these same politicians had 105 million Dollars to spend not too long ago, they chose to buy two luxurious custom-made Presidential Jets for themselves and then supervise such humiliation and murder of our women until the British Government came to our aid, and yet, these politicians instead of bowing their heads in shame could ignore their conscience (if they have one) and mobilize these same women they had humiliated and murdered to sing their praises.

Immediately flowing from these, an announcement was made to the effect that all children under age 18 can access the National Health Insurance for free. Until this announcement, the impression had been created that children were covered by the NHIS as soon as their parents registered.

Now, this is the latest and probably the most fascinating maneuver; in what appears to be a flagrant interference in the work of the judiciary, the Information Minister, Hon. Asamoah Boateng announced last week on Joy FM that Government had asked the judges to reduce the fines they slap on drivers who appear before them at the Motor Court. The lame excuse the Minister gave was that drivers were complaining and that this will also curb corruption. What the Minister fails to realize is that his comments justify the corruption in the Ghana Police Service. The Minister also failed to tell Ghanaians that if they treated the Ghana Police Service about 1/10th of how they politicians treat themselves by increasing the salaries of Policemen and paying it on time, corruption in the Ghana Police Service would be drastically reduced. Again, the drivers have been complaining since the establishment of the Motor Court over three years ago, and why were they not listened to then?

Definitely, most schemes by exploitative politicians are indeed laughable. Maybe, just maybe, in order to get the Ghanaian politician to listen to us and remember always that he is accountable to we the people and that he derives his power from us- we may just consider holding elections every year. It may be the only panacea to the immediate neglect of the people by these politicians when they are elected only to remember the people in an election year. However, I don’t think these politicians deserve the wastage of our taxes if we are going to be forced by their conduct to hold elections every year, and that is why I take consolation in what is happening in the NPP Parliamentary Primaries. Over 22 incumbent MPs in the ruling NPP have lost their seats at my last count and this may just be an indicator that the Ghanaian electorate aren’t gullible anymore and that when you neglect them, no matter your election year maneuver, they will have their own package for you.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is the author of the book, A State of Coma; he has several other publications to his name. He was NUGS President and is currently a leading member of the CJA. He welcomes your comments via samoblak@hotmail.com 

  

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features//How-we-wish-every-year-is-an-election-year-145479

DESPERATE MEASURES

Desperate people often take desperate measures. Desperate measures may ameliorate situations or could worsen matters depending on the circumstances leading to or culminating in the desperation. 

Carefully planned, thought through and well executed desperate measures may turn things around for the better depending on the macro political, social, public and economic environment, especially if it is an election year. 

There is no doubt that the leader of our community is a desperate man. He is desperately yearning for another four – year mandate so that he could still be the head of state head, of government and the Commander – In – Chief of the Republic of Ghana and the Armed Forces of Ghana.

The leader of our community has been a failure as far as our community is concerned and as far as the entire nation is concerned. What has our community achieved during his eight – year presidency? Has the leader improved the service conditions of members of our community? 

Perhaps he is deceiving himself with the “nominal gains” but not the real improvement of our community, the well – being of the members, the operational and administrative capabilities of the troops.

What about the level of esprit de Corps, sense of camaraderie and team work in the Armed Forces? The answers to these few questions are not for fetched.

The first indicator of the “failure” of our leader is the Embraer aircraft bought from Brazil for our Airforce. Instead of going for the state of the art Airbus at a really very competitive price, then vice leader of our community and chairman of our council decided to go in for a “cheap” aircraft which turned out to be very expensive-more expensive than the Airbus in competitive and operational terms. The opportunity cost of that aircraft (Brazilian Embraer) was and is enormous. 

The Ghana Armed Forces and the nation lost a lot by way of other equipment and logistics that could have been provided for by the extra funds used in paying for a poor quality aircraft. A report prepared by the Ghana Airforce Team of Pilots/Experts placed the Airbus-combined European and American technology- far ahead of several other aircrafts including the Embraer. 

Some of the criteria used to make the comparative analyses beyond reproach were operational capability, durability, efficiency, fuel efficiency and serviceability. It was therefore surprising that the Ghana Airforce Team of Pilots/Experts report was abandoned and the cheap Brazilian aircraft was bought with our hard earned cash.

With the likes of my friend, General SK Adeti, around to ensure an underserved electoral victory for the overall leader of our community, the plan and grounds are set to use the security service to have “JM” declared winner of the 2016 Presidential elections. 

The government had appointed Mr. Kudalor as the Acting IGP before the end of 2015 as a first major step of taking absolute control of our community. The appointment of Mr. Kudalor as IGP had been a reward for his brutalities and no – nonsense posture on innocent “Let My Vote Count” and “Alliance for Accountable Government” (AFAG) demonstrations. 

Our leader is trying to “repair” his dented image in the eyes of the military. Even though Article 57 of our 1992 Constitution makes him the Commander-In-Chief of our community, the leader of our community is suffering from an identity and recognition syndrome and is desperately seeking to be identified with the Armed Forces.

Consequently, in recent times, our leader has chosen to wear military uniforms during military ceremonies. The first time our leader wore a military uniform as the President of the Republic of Ghana was during the commissioning of an edifice for the Ghana Navy in Burma Camp. He wore a military camouflage dress. The second time he wore it was on 16 September 2016, on the occasion of the graduation of officer Cadets of Regular Career Course 56 and Short Service /Special Duties Course 54.

On that occasion, our leader wore the Army Ceremonial Dress for Generals. He was splendid in the uniform!

It is on record that General JD Mahama started wearing military uniforms during the regimes of Jerry Rawlings when he ordered that his secretaries or ministers of state be given military training. Several political appointees wore military uniforms at MATS and elsewhere, undertook some basic military training including field craft and Skill At Arms (Weapons Training)

At that time, Secretary/Minister JD Mahama was obeying orders of the then Commander-In-Chief who fortunately was a military officer and was not strange to military uniforms and environment. 

Indeed, Jerry Rawlings wore uniforms of all the Arms of the Ghana Armed Forces. He chose to wear the Army and Naval uniforms in addition to his favorite Airforce uniforms. The occasion determined the uniform that Jerry Rawlings wore. For instance at a purely Army programme, he wore the Army uniform and at a purely Naval programme, he wore the naval uniform. For national or tri-service programmes, Jerry Rawlings wore his Airforce uniforms appropriately. 

The case of “General” JD Mahama is one of the numerous cases of “causing financial loss” to the state. 

Readers and members of our community may be wondering why this “charge” or “offence” of causing financial loss to the state. The reason is simple. The full regalia for the head of state to dress in a military ceremonial dress- Army ceremonial dress- is quite expensive. It could cost close to over three thousand pound sterling. The cost of the items is quite high taking our current economic challenges into account. The cost of the cup, top dress, trousers, shoes, epaulettes, sword, belt, and others would run into several thousands of the British pound sterling. An amount of three thousand pound sterling is being modest. 

May the Director of Ordnance Services tell the members of our community how much it cost the Ghana Armed Forces and the state to kit “General” JD Mahama on Friday 16 September 2016?

What about the first outfit worn during the commissioning of the naval edifice? 

Information I have indicates that the other two Services are competing with the Army to kit our leader so that he could dress in their uniforms also for “image building”. 

If the information is true, is it not a reckless dissipation of our scarce resources?

Certainly, the Navy and the Airforce would not want to be left out of this reckless competition and have ordered kits for our leader. Could it not have been better to use the resources spent on General” JD Mahama to kit at least one of the three Service Commanders or one of the three Commandants of our training institutions where regularly ceremonies take place and the Commandants are to dress appropriately?

We hope that readers and members of our community would not describe us as being petty or mean. A prudent decision is taken against the background of prevailing circumstances. 

Currently, Ghana is a heavily indebted poor country whether so declared or not! If it were not so, how come Ghana is pursuing an austerity regime under the auspices of the international Monitory Fund (IMF)? 

It is only countries with serious economic challenges (crises) that submit themselves to the regimes of the IMF. 

Already, there are reports, and that has been admitted by the Minister for Finance, that the government is facing serious difficulties in paying salaries of workers. Under those circumstances, any reckless dissipation of funds is to be avoided. Any country facing serious economic challenges or crises must weigh its choices very well.

Again, basic economics teaches us to have a prudent scale of preference to enable us make very useful and vital choices whose opportunity costs are less disastrous. We therefore beg to say that the decision by the Commander-In-Chief and the Military High Command to kit “General” JD Mahama was ill - advised and unhelpful. 

The second major desperate measure of our leader is the haphazard, erratic and uncoordinated manner in which he has been increasing salaries and allowances of members of the Ghana Armed Forces and the civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence or the Ghana Armed Forces. Is it not shameful that on August 11 2016, the leader of our community increased the earned dollar allowance for peacekeeping by just one dollar per diem and justified it with a press release by my Nyebro friend, Colonel Aggrey Quashie, Director Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces?  

Was it not more shameful and a real case of desperation when a few days later, our leader thought it wiser to increase the earned dollar by a further four dollars thereby bringing the total to five dollars?

Does it suggest that the leader had not planned to do anything about the earned dollar allowance but was forced beyond his control to do so or because the Daily Statesman claims the opposition New Patriotic Party had captured it in its yet to be released manifesto?

If I may ask ooooo…..why did it take our leader five years and I repeat five years to increase the UN peacekeeping allowance for formed troops (earned dollar allowance) by just one dollar?

If he had been more prudent, he would have taken a cue from his immediate predecessor- John Mills and JA Kufour-and would have realized that as soon as he became the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, he ought to have done something about it.

For instance as soon as JA Kufuor became the President and C-I-C of Ghana on 7 January 2001, he increased the earned dollar in March 2001 from fourteen dollars to twenty dollars. Again, during the second mandate of JA Kufuor, he increased the earned dollar from twenty to twenty-five dollars in 2005. 

Furthermore, JA Kufuor increased the earned dollar from twenty-five to twenty-seven dollars in 2008 before he completed his mandate on 6 January 2009. But fact is, his party was out and we did not even vote for them.

Enter John Mills in 2009 and he also increased the earned dollar from twenty-seven dollars to thirty dollars in 2009 (thus the very first year of his Presidency). Taking a cue from these two examples, what prevented General JD Mahama from increasing the earned dollar in 2013 at most after the Supreme Court ruling in his favour? 

It shows that General Mahama did not mean well for the troops but realized that the 2016 elections were critical and needed to bolster his sinking reputation in the eyes of the military.

What is this nonsense of first class military personnel?

I hear the military personnel closely associated with the Presidency and or the Executive are treated as first class military personnel while all the others are treated as second class military personnel. 

This practice started during the era of the Forces Reserve Battalion (FRB) and now the 64 Infantry Regiment (6 for June and 4 for 4^th June 1979 uprising of the AFRC considered  as the forerunner of the PNDC and NDC).

With Lt. Col Quashie (a Nyebro) as one of the pioneering Commanding Officers, the FRB was used to provide comfort and succor to the selected favorite ones to the exclusion of the general members of the community.

These “most favoured” officers and men could undertake all kinds of overt and covert operations with impunity. Some specially selected police personnel were made part of this arrangement. 

The situation persisted when the name was changed from Forces Reserved Battalion to 64 Infantry Regiment. Members of the “Special Regiment” received special treatment. They had and still have their separate training grounds at Asutsuare with superior training facilities which are lacking at Army Recruit School (ARTS) at Shai Hills, Naval Training Schools at Tema and Sekondi and Airforce Training School at Takoradi.

The 64 Infantry Regiment has different Unit Equipment Table (UET), separate and distinct from those of the Army Battalions in Tema, Takoradi, Sunyani, Kumasi, Burma Camp and Tamale. The personnel of the regular battalions detest this arrangement but feel helpless about it as the Military High Command is scared to talk about it let alone to suggest that the incongruous situation be changed.

Special packages are given to personnel of this unit in addition to the general service conditions by way of housing, pay and allowances. Promotion of personnel and selection for peace support operations are made to favour them. 

Some of these personnel accompany the Presidency on internal and external trips with associated travelling allowances. Some are also selected for anti-hijacking and anti-terrorist operations on aircrafts with attendant juicy packages. All these special packages and allocation of vehicles (new and confiscated ones at the seaports) go to enhance the standard of living of the personnel of 64 Infantry Regiment to the chagrin of professionally equally competent regular members of the Armed Forces.

The recent creation of Special Forces in the three Services is only a farce. Real power still resides in the 64 Infantry Regiment which is able to act in some circumstances directly under the command and control of the Presidency before even the Chief of Army Staff may be aware. What an arrangement!!!

Theoretically or on paper, the 64 Infantry Regiment is under the operational and administrative control of the Army Headquarters but in practice, it is under the effective control of the political leadership and therefore I’m not shocked when some members of community went to Kasoa to hurt innocent Ghanaians.

A leader is not simply a professional killer or a manager of violence. He is rather a protector of ideals of the nation, ready to sacrifice his life defending and fighting for the sovereign rights of his nation so that others can live in a free and just society. We should therefore rise up to our responsibilities as officers and men and leave politics to the politicians

Ghana Military Academy To Be Moved?

Probably, the biggest problem Ghana Military Academy (GMA) suffers from is its co-location with MATS at Teshie. Organizationally, GMA is one of the thirteen training institutions that come under the Commandants of MATS.

GMA therefore does not enjoy the independence or autonomy that other military academies enjoy. To give a few examples, the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK, the India Military Academy, Dehra Dun, India and the National Defence Academy (NDA) Nigeria are all autonomous schools commanded by Major Generals. In all respect therefore, particularly in the area of finance, the Commandant is the sole authority.

IN GMA, HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. INDEED, AS HAS BEEN STATED EARLIER, SOME COMMANDANTS OF MATS SEE GMA AS A UNIT UNDER THEM AND TRY UNDULY TO INTERFERE WITH GMA’S ACTIVITIES PARTICULARLY WITH THE ACADEMY BUDGET. THIS HAS OFTEN LED TO CONFLICT BETWEEN COMMANDANTS MATS AND COS GMA.

The solution to this age-old problem is to change the present organization and move GMA away from its present location to a site where it will be completely autonomous as is the case in the examples given. Sandhurst, Dehra Dun and NDA are all commanded by Major Generals.

FURTHERMORE, THE PRESENT ARRANGEMENT THAT HAS GMA AS A UNIT UNDER MATS FORMATION AND THEREFORE MAKES BASIC DEMANDS LIKE ROUTINE LETTERS TO HIGHER HEADQUARTERS BEING ROUTED THROUGH MATS HQ HAS PROVED ANACHRONISTIC.

Double handling and resultant time wastage aside, this arrangement demeans the status of GMA as the only institution responsible for producing officers for the Ghana Armed Forces.

GMA MUST BE AN AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION WITH ITS OWN BUDGET AND A COMMANDANT WHO REPORTS DIRECTLY THROUGH THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF IN CONSONANCE WITH THE TRI-SERVICE NATURE OF THE INSTITUTION. THIS SITUATION MAY BE LIKENED TO WHAT HAPPENS AT THE GHANA ARMED FORCES COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE WHERE THE COMMANDANT DEALS DIRECTLY WITH THE CHIEF OF STAFF. WITH ALL THE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION AND REPUTATION GMA HAS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HAVING AT LEAST A BRIGADIER AS THE HEAD?

 

Again, to bring it in line with convention in military academies modeled on Sandhurst lines, the present title of the head as Commanding Officer of the Ghana Military Academy must reviewed and possibly changed to the Commandant of the Ghana Military Academy.

Another reason for advocating GMA’s movement from the present location is that, when it was established in the 1960s, there were no nearby settlements which interfered with training.

To the north of GMA, there was an open stretch of savannah grassland of over ten kiloimetres to Madina. Eastwards, there was an equally long stretch of land to Ashaiman. Today, all these areas are fully built up with GMA hemmed in.

The result is that there is no local training area to practice basic drills taught in the classroom as was the case in my days as a cadet in the early 1970s. The logistic strain of constantly moving cadets out of GMA to practice basic field drills can be imagined

.

A pertinent question which arises immediately is, where can GMA be moved to, considering the serious financial implications this will entail? 

Providence appears to have given an ideal location for GMA’s future relocation. Just an hour’s drive north-east of Teshie is the Asutware Camp.

This old camp occupies the northern part of the Shai Hills which is itself part of the Bundase training area.

With only a little bit of modification, the Asutware Camp can be developed into an ideal place for the GMA.

It is only an hour’s drive from Accra but sufficiently far to keep cadets and instructors alike from any distractions.

Once the problem of relocation has been solved, the next issue will be that of instructors and their stability in GMA. Because of Ghana’s unique role in international peacekeeping operations, instructors in GMA often have to break their tour to contribute towards such operations. Added to this is the sometimes erratic bulk posting of instructors out of GMA at the same time. When this happens, experience built over time is suddenly lost.

A possible solution to this problem could be the posting of officers to GMA for a fixed period of between two and three years during which there should be no break in service for any course or operation. Once the instructor finishes his tour, he could then be recompensed for his sacrifice with an overseas course and a long tour of duty on a UN peacekeeping mission.

Again, periodic visits by GMA instructors to foreign military academies and training institutions will give the instructor greater exposure and by implication a better output from him.

Similarly, foreign instructors could be invited on a reciprocal basis to share their experiences with GMA instructors. This way, instructors will show more commitment and dedication knowing that they would have nothing to lose while teaching in GMA.

Additionally, the point has been made that for very obvious reasons the instructor in GMA deserves some allowance. The GMA instructor routinely travels away from home and family on exercises. The emotional as well as the physical demands exacted on him cannot be overemphasized.

In the mosquito endemic zone we find ourselves in, malaria naturally takes its toll on the instructor. By the very nature of the job, the GMA instructor has to make several out of hours trips to GMA using his own car and well turned out in mufti at all times. All this impinges on the finances of the GMA instructor.

Currently, between the two regular courses and the one SSC/SD course, GMA takes a maximum of about one hundred cadets. This limitation is imposed by classrooms and accommodation. Once GMA moves into a location with bigger facilities, the intake of cadets can be increased to improve on the current average of sixty cadets commissioned every year, which appears to be on the low side, especially with the very high attrition rate particularly of young officers. 

The next issue to be looked at is that of the minimum entry requirements for the regular cadet. After being pegged at the General Certificate of Education Advance Level since the 1970s, the minimum entry requirement was lowered to the Senior Secondary School Certificate of Education in 1998.

In the rapidly changing, technologically advanced world of the twenty-first century, where frontiers of human knowledge are being pushed further with higher and better education, it is simply inappropriate to go in the opposite direction by reducing educational standards for future officers of the Ghana Armed Forces.

I have stated earlier on in this book that, rather sadly, interest in GMA by the staff appears to be only once a year and that is during graduation in August. This national function which has the parade reviewed by the head of state is the only occasion that staff officers from the service headquarters visit GMA.

Incidentally, and maybe rather unfortunately, the parade more or less serves as the yardstick for judging GMA’s performance over the year. Whatever difficulties the academy encountered during the year does not appear to matter once the parade is very successful.

GMA is a tri-service institution and it is highly recommended that staff officers from Army, Navy and Airforce Headquarters take more interest in GMA activities.

Again, alumni of GMA do not associate with GMA in any way. So far, only the members of Regular Intake 20 have been kind enough to support GMA. The group provided 4 lecterns: one each for the officer Cadet’s Mess and the rooms of the courses.

This has been a laudable gesture and I hope that many more intakes would begin to associate with the Academy in various ways. Alas, intakes senior or junior to these pacesetters have not followed in the good example.

The relationship between alumni of GMA and the Academy is an important one. Apart from the material support ensures that facilities are adequate, the moral support to the instructors and cadets is immense. Many more of these alumni have good ideas for the development of the GMA and our officer crop. Such associations and interactions will help us tap these plans for the general good of GAF.

Again, in recent times, a trend has emerged towards separate commissions and graduation parade by individual service. The Ghana Military Academy is a tri-service institution and the only one responsible for the training of cadets for commission into the Ghana Armed Forces. 

In August 2001, for example, fifty cadets were commissioned at GMA, Teshie. Then two months later in October 2001, nine naval cadets were commissioned at Sekondi. Finally, two months later again in December 2001, nine airforce cadets were commissioned in Takoradi. The question is if GMA is a tri-service institution and the only one charged with the responsibility of training cadets, why did we have three commissions in a space of only five months between August and December 2001 for a total of less than eighty cadets?

What justification was there for expending all the time, energy and meager resources available on three specific graduations at a time when Ghana had declared itself a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC)?

It is strongly recommended that graduation must be held once a year for all graduating cadets at the Ghana Military Academy, possibly in August as has been the case for some time now. Piecemeal graduations as are becoming the vogue now only fritter away limited resources.

Finally, GMA which started in 1960 out of the ashes of the 1953-bron Regular Officers Special Training School has trained over three thousand cadets into commissioned officers not only for the Ghana Armed Forces but also for sister African countries like Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Uganda.

Without doubt, GMA has maintained a very high standard as an institution of excellence for cadet training comparable with any in the developed world. What problems I have identified and discussed are purely institutional and human problems one expects in any human institution.

The recommendations made therefore are just aimed at improving on GMA’s already high standards in our quest to maintain and possibly improve it as a center of excellence for cadet training.

It is my fervent hope that, once these problems are resolved, GMA will continue to grow from strength to strength as it continues to provide highly motivated educated leaders of character imbued with the academy’s motto of SERVICE, DEVOTION and SACRIFICE to serve mother Ghana, or indeed any sister African country they may  come from.

It is my hope that, with such disciplined and educated officers of character who understand and acknowledge the supremacy of the constitution at the helm of affairs, the Ghana Armed Forces and others in Africa will develop the cordiality and mutual respect with our civilian kith and kin.

In this way, the necessary enabling environment will be provided for governments to focus on national development to propel us forward. 

Culled from LEADERSHIP AND THE CHALLENGES OF COMMAND by Brigadier General Daniel Kwadjo Frimpong (page 126 titled THE FUTURE)