Hon. Dominic Nitiwul, NPP Campaign Sector Committee Chairperson on Security, has stated that an NPP government upon assuming office, will review, the defense strategy of the nation.
“We believe that the men and women of the Ghana Armed forces will not be focused more on combat any longer. There are other things they will be focusing on, which include anti-terrorism, protecting the territorial integrity of our nation, protecting our waters, helping the people, and engaging in activities that will help develop the nation,” he said.
Citing the example of the United States of America, Egypt and Israel, whose military are engaged in developmental activities aside combat operations, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul, who is also the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, wondered why the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, for example, who were once involved in the construction of bridges and roads, have been left redundant under the Mahama government.
This, the Deputy Minority Leader assured, will change under an Akufo-Addo government, as the military will be engaged further to assist in the development of the country.
Further, he stated that the review will also cover the possibility of extending the number of years a military officer is expected to serve in the army from a minimum of 25 years to 30 years.
According to him, “it is just right and equitable that if a civil servant retires at age 60, a military officer is not asked to retire say at 45 or at 50 years, if he or she enters the service at 20 years or at 25 years.”
To this end, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul has assured that “the convention of allowing our men to retire after serving 25 years, particular the ‘other ranks’, will be reviewed. We will look at the possibility of adding another 5 years, and that means, unless you want to retire voluntarily, you will have the opportunity to serve a minimum of 30 years in the military.”
As contained in the NPP’s 2016 manifesto, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul reiterated the commitment of the NPP to construct a military hospital in Tamale, to serve the needs of military officers based in the Northern part of the country.
With the 37 military hospital dedicated to officers based in the Southern Command, and another military hospital being constructed in Kumasi for the Central Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul indicated that it is only right for the Northern Command to have a hospital to cater for their needs.
Additionally, he assured that an NPP government, under Nana Akufo-Addo, will provide decent accommodation for the men and women in Ghana’s security agencies, through the “Barracks Regeneration Programme, to ensure that our men and women serving in security agencies are given good and decent accommodation”.
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