He therefore, advised them to feel free to bring up their concerns for the appropriate action to be taken. Mr Nitiwul gave the assurance at the first staff durbar, since he took office as the Minister of Defence in Accra. The Minister reminded the staff that the Ministry of Defence was not ‘Siberia’ and since government was changing the focus of the Ministry; staff concerns and interest would be duly addressed.

He said the staff durbar was to create an opportunity for interaction across board, “it is important that we work together to get to know each other”. He called for collective effort and team work to better serve the people of Ghana. He commended the staff for working well under difficult conditions and sacrificing a lot for the country and the Ghana Armed Forces.

The Minister promised to work towards providing them training opportunities both home and abroad to uplift their knowledge base to play their roles as major supervisors of the Defence sector. “Staff can benefit from efforts underway to retool and improve the working and living conditions in the Armed Forces,” he added.

The Defence Minister reiterated government’s plan to build a third Military Hospital in Tamale, renovate the 37 Military Hospital, enhance support to peacekeeping troops and embark on a barracks regeneration programme to improve and increase housing for the Military personnel.

Mr Nitiwul advised them to be punctual to work and decorous in their language by desisting from unacceptable conduct and use of approved channels in seeking visas. The staff pledged their commitment and support to the new Minister.