Kofi Ampeah Woode
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) – Major General (Maj Gen) Bismarck Kwasi Onwona, together with the Acting Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) – Mr Awie Frey, and other stakeholders, jointly cut sod for the construction of a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Obuasi, for the Ghana Army.
The project, whose groundbreaking was on Monday 26 February 2024, will be funded by AngloGold Ashanti, and will be a 350 unit accommodation for Army personnel, and is expected to cost of Six Million United States Dollars ($6 million), and it will be constructed by two construction firms namely; Argate Contractors Limited, and Intermove Company Limited.
The FOB is expected to be completed within 24 months, with supervision by the Directorate of Engineer Services, General Headquarters, Burma Camp, Accra.
Mr Frey in his opening remarks, indicated that the construction of the FOB would help to mitigate the activities of illegal miners, who pose threats to AngloGold’s operations, and cause destruction to the environment, with associated risk factors.
He stated that AGA’s collaboration with the Ghana Army and other sister security agencies, has mitigated the increasing aggression of armed illegal miners and their associated criminal activities, which he mentioned were some of their major challenges, in line with their operations.
He used the opportunity to thank the Military High Command and the Ghana Police Service, for their continuous support, by ensuring safety and security of their employees, the community and their assets.
Maj Gen BK Onwona in his address, acknowledged the importance of AngloGold Ashanti as being a national asset, and that disruptions of its operations would have negative effects on the socio-political and economic security of the country, hence the need for the construction of a military base in Obuasi, to help reduce the activities of illegal mining.
He said the opening of the FOB in Obuasi, fits into the strategy of the Ghana Army, to expand its frontiers across the country, as several other FOBs are being built mainly along the northern frontiers, to position the Army better, to deliver on its constitutional mandate.
Gen Onwona commended AngloGold Ashanti for pushing the project, as part of its corporate social responsibility, and urged other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture shown by the large scale miner.
Credit: GHANA ARMY PR
