Defence Minister-Designate, Dominic Nitwul, has stated that, in the next four years as the Minister of Defence, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) should expect the re-equipment in various forces to take place.
Speaking during his vetting session today, February 11, 2020, in the chambers of Parliament, he made this known to be one of his main area of focus if he passes through the vetting process.
He averred that, the various forces which are the army, the navy and air force need a lot of re-equipment in order to provide them with more tools and armouries to enable them perform their duties effectively.
“The various forces need a lot of reequipping. We need to give them, the army, the navy and air force more equipment to enable them do all that they have to do.
“We need to give the navy the ships, we need to give the armed forces and special forces the armouries they need and the air force also we need to give them the air assets to be able to defend us.”
Mr. Nitwul said
He further indicated that accommodation plans are also being made to provide the officers with adequate accommodation and recreation.
“And I have already stated about the plans to give them more accommodation and places of recreation. We are building a state-of-the-art stadium and a multipurpose facility in Tamale. And I think the minority leader will bear witness to me. We intend to continue it in other areas like in Accra, in Takoradi and other areas.”
he said
Mr. Nitwul posited that, there are a lot of things the Ministry and the government has to do together to ensure the effective operations of the armed forces especially with modernization in contemporary times and also to enable them defend the nation when the need arises.
Touching on the happenings on the night of the transition of Parliament, where armed military men were seen trooping into the chambers of Parliament, he intimated that, the matter is being investigated. He also disclosed that until the results of the investigations come out, it will be difficult for him to prejudice the investigation.
“It is not just Ghana, if you look at other high world, you will see that, it is not impossible for such a thing to have happened. Like I said, let us sit and investigate what has happened and what is the best way forward, like how do we hold someone responsible?, How do we reform ourselves especially in Parliament so, those things don’t happen again because you and I don’t want it to happen again.”
Mr. Nitwul said
Mr. Nitwul answering the question on if he will be willing to take the responsibility of the military activities and conducts during the December 2020 election stated that, it will be legally unfair to him to take responsibility for crimes or offences committed.
The Minister Designate further disclosed that, with regards to extremism among the forces that poses real danger to the country, there is none that his Ministry has come across.
