Be Neutral, Discipline and Courageous---Lt Gen. Smith Urges GAF

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba
Lieutenal General Joseph Henry Smith, the outgoing Minister of Defence has advised the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to remain neutral and avoids political partisanship in the discharge of their duties to defend and protect the country.


He said Ghana has established itself as a beacon of democracy, political stability, peace and a robust economy development and therefore there was the need for the Armed Forces to be neutral devoid of political or parochial interest.
Speaking at a short but impressive send off ceremony for haven served as a Minister for Defence since 2009, Lt. Gen. Smith said: “It is only within the atmosphere of peace, security, stability, freedom and economic development that the better condition of life that the citizens of Ghana cherish for themselves can be realized.”
According to him, Ghana can only stand the test of time if the Armed Forces could always remind themselves of the oath they took to protect the constitution and exhibit high level of professionalism in their duties in serving the nation.

He further called on the Armed Forces to let loyalty, selfless services, integrity, honour, courage and discipline served as the guiding principles to dictate their behavior at all time.
“You must always be willing to make sacrifices that will ensure that, Ghana peace, stability and democracy survive now and for generations yet to come,” he said.
He stated that the Ministry of Defence and for that matter Ghana Armed Forces, has been restructured into the 21^st Century to be able to meet contemporary challenges in the armed forces.
Lt. Gen. Smith who once served in the Army as a commander  noted that Ghana Armed Forces is endowed with large pool of professional services men and women in various fields including Administrators, Architects, Pilots, Aviation/Marine Engineers, Journalist, among others and urged the  forces high commands to provide opportunities for that pool of expertise to be utilize.
He said during his tenure, the government supported the military in their quest to protect the country, saying strategic plans have been taking to modernize the armed forces to pace with the changing trends of security threats.
He added that it was as result of such threats that had resulted in the unprecedented acquisition of strategic equipments including Amours cars for the Army, Aircrafts for the Air forces and Marine Ships for the Navy.
The outgoing defence minister noted that to ensure the good condition for the armed forces as they work to protect the nation, pragmatic plans have been put in place to commence large-scale housing project to expand accommodation in all Garrisons of GAF, adding that government has also shown commitment to continue to equip the Armed Forces with the necessary tools and logistics to perform its duties.
He therefore urged the Armed Forces commands to continue to build and to sustain the civilian-military relations, adding that it is the tool for promoting national peace and cohesion.
For him, “the military must not be seen as an instrument of coercion, intimidation and brutalization of civilians but rather the protector and guarantor of the rights of all citizens.”
Lt Gen.  Smith however expressed his profound gratitude to the Military High Commands and all personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces, member of the Armed Forces Council and the entire workforces for their tremendous support to him during his tenure as a minister for defence.
The incoming minister for defence and Member of Parliament (MP) for Navrongo central Constituency, Hon. Mark Woyongo, on his part promised to continue the remarkable effort by the outgoing minister in retooling and modernizing the Ghana Armed Forces and its agencies to meet the current defence needs.
He said it was out of the splendid performance by the Ghana Armed Forces, both at home and abroad that the country enviable recognition at the United Nation (UN) security council and also became the beacon of peace, stability and democracy in the Africa continent and assured the Armed Forces of his selfless   support in their work as a minister to move the nation forward.
Lt Gen. Smith was presented with plaques of citation by the Ministry of defence, the Armed Forces council, eulogizing him for his exceptional contribution to the enhancement of the Armed Forces operation, especially their welfare.
According to the citation, it was due to Lt. Gen Smith hard work that he was recognized and adjudged the best Minister for defence in the West Africa sub-region by the West Africa Focus Magazine in 2012.