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The Minister designate for Defence, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, has pledged to take steps to ensure that personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) are deployed sparingly for operations within the country going forward.
In his view, a more restricted deployment of soldiers would create more room for the police to undertake their constitutional responsibilities without any form of interference from the military.
Again, he said soldiers would only be deployed for joint operations with the police upon security risk analysis, and even with that, there would have to be joint training for both sides to know their specific roles on the field.
Dr Boamah gave that assurance when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday to be vetted by the committee and approved to assume the role of Defence Minister.
Responding to a question on whether he would restrict the military to the barracks when approved as the sector minister, he stressed that soldiers would be deployed in moderation.
"Soldiers are not trained to be enforcing laws the way the police do, and that is why you will hardly see soldiers holding handcuffs. The armed forces should only be deployed for limited operations, and it should not be a norm," he said.
Touching on the deployment of soldiers for election security, the nominee said it was not proper to involve the military in election activities unless there were imminent security threats to the country.
He clarified that depending on risk assessment, the military could be deployed to deal with issues that posed higher security threats.
Dr Boamah said rather than making soldiers do the work of the police, joint operations could be encouraged when the need arose.
Even in that case, he said, it was important that as and when the police and soldiers embarked on joint operations, they had joint training to ensure a balancing act.
"When you push soldiers more and more to do the work of the police, it will paint the picture that the police are not competent to do their work," he said.
Regarding the deployment of soldiers for combat operations in the fight against illegal mining, he said an alternative way must be adopted to deal with the menace and not necessarily the use of the military.
For instance, he said drones could be deployed to monitor operations at galamsey sites for the necessary action, while military deployment could be the last resort, especially where there were security risks.
The nominee stressed that he would not circumvent the procedures for the enlistment of Ghanaians into the GAF.
He said the rigours of military training and the critical need to protect the country against external aggression would be his guiding principles to ensure that only qualified persons were recruited into the GAF.
"Health, academics and other criteria guide the recruitment of persons into the GAF, and I will not circumvent the procedures for enlistment," he stated.
Dr Boamah said this when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday to be vetted in accordance with the requirements of the 1992 Constitution.
The nominee also gave a firm assurance that he would ensure regional balance in the recruitment of persons into GAF as provided for in the Constitution.
"I am a student of equity and I will ensure that all procedures laid down to promote equity in recruitment are applied strictly," he said in response to a question posed by the former Minister of Defence and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul.
Responding to a question on what would be done to improve service delivery at the 37 Military Hospital, he said efforts would be made to retool the facility.
Again, he said innovative mechanisms would be instituted to cut the cost of operation and maximise the utilisation of available resources.
The vetting of Dr Boamah hit a snag due to disagreement by members of the committee over the suspending of proceedings until allegations of bribery against the committee were resolved.
A private legal practitioner, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, was said to have accused the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, of taking bribes from ministerial nominees, pending their vetting and approval by Parliament.
The committee was scheduled to vet five nominees, beginning at 9 a.m. However, after over three hours’ delay, the committee members took their seats, indicating their readiness to vet the nominee.
Mr Ahiafor brought to the attention of the public the allegation made by Mr Barker-Vormawor and directed the Clerk of Parliament to haul him before the House today to provide evidence for his claim.
The Chairman then signalled the committee to proceed with its work, but that was opposed by members of the Minority on the committee who cited reputational issues against the institution of Parliament.
After moments of back and forth between members of the committee, the Minority Leader and Ranking Member on the committee, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, appealed to the Chairman to take a break and allow the members to make a decision on the issue at a conclave.
However, the chairman of the committee turned down the request.
"We have been to conclave and returned to carry out our business, but it appears the Minority side of the committee has taken their stance not to be part of the vetting.
"The police are always accused of corruption; this is a perception, but it does not stop policing in this country. Let us continue with the vetting and deal with the maker of the allegation tomorrow,” the Chairman said.
But upon reflection, the Chairman subsequently yielded to the request of the Minority Leader and granted a five-minute break.
Mr Vormawor made allegations on social media that the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiabor, had been taking bribes from the nominees who came for vetting.
He also accused the Majority members of the committee of taking money from the nominees before approving them.
While members of the committee were contemplating how to address the issue, Mr Barker-Vormawor took to Facebook to express his readiness to appear before the House.
"This is how democracy improves. I look forward to appearing before the Appointments Committee tomorrow; Thank You," he wrote on his Facebook wall.
