Kofi Ampeah Woode
A delegation from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) led by the Commandant – Major General (Maj Gen) Mathew Essien, paid a courtesy call on the Council of State at the Accra International Conference Centre where the Delegation was received by the Chairman, Nana Otuo Siriboe II.
The Commandant in his opening remarks on Wednesday 26 June 2024, provided an insight into the role of the military College in national development and capacity building, and outlined the academic programmes run by the College, reiterating the commitment of the Armed Forces in enhancing civil-military cooperation through provision of such academic programmes that are available to and patronized by the entire populace.
Further, Maj Gen Essien seized the opportunity to officially invite the Chairman and members of the Council of State to the upcoming maiden Republic Day Public Lecture earmarked for Monday 1 July 2024 at the premise of the Staff College.
The Commandant indicated that the lecture which is themed “Reflection of the Democratic Control Over the Military and the Way Forward for Sustainability” seeks to have security and governance experts such as Mr Francis Poku Esq; a former Minister for National Security as the Guest Speaker together with Ambassador Josephine Nkrumah and Professor Kwasi Anning provide insights and share their experience.
The Commandant further accentuated that the lecture which would be an annual programme is expected to strengthen the relationship between the military and civil populace and provide a platform for middle level leadership to embrace the concept of civil-military cooperation and deepen their understanding of their role in governance as well.
The Chairman of Ghana’s Council of State – Nana Otuo Siriboe II accepted the invitation of the Commandant on behalf of the entire Council and expressed his gratitude, assuring that the delegation that council members will attend the lecture and provide their inputs to shape the narrative for participants.
In his remarks, the Chairman recommended that commemorative lectures are held on 11 November each year in honour of distinguished military officers such as Lieutenant General Otu who was the first Ghanaian Chief of the Defence Staff after the departure of the British, and intimated that such lectures will provide the platform for the memories of such noble officers to be engraved in the minds of the populace and preserve history on a day designated as the Remembrance Day across all commonwealth countries.
Again, the Council Members bemoaned the level of indiscipline that seems to be gradually taking over the youth in the Country, and expressed concern over the abuse of the media space by untrained reporters masquerading as journalists and further suggested to the Commandant to consider developing a training package for defence reporting.
Further, Council Members voiced their opinions on issues bothering on security and proffered some cogent recommendations to the Commandant for possible consideration by the military high command.
They requested that the Military works closer with their civilian counterparts to promote discipline in a cordial manner that is devoid of intimidation and brutalities. Also, they entreated the Military to work closer with other security agencies to extirpate the seeming routine clashes with sister security services.
The Chairman in his concluding remarks, expressed his gratitude to the Commandant and his delegation made up of Brigadier General Albert Dawohoso – Assistant Commandant Junior Division; Air Commodore Niifio Okai- Assistant Commandant Senior Division and Colonel Maxwell Mantey – Chief Coordinator, for visiting the Council and according it with such reverence.
Credit: GAFCSC ADMIN
