The Ghana Armed Forces has assured the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the newly formed Special Forces within the Forces is not meant to do ill things in the country. According to the Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Armed Forces, Col. Atintande Mbawine added that there was no such ill motive.
Col. Mbawine told Joy FM, a local radio station that the show of force was meant to assure Ghanaians they were safe and that the army was capable of adequately protecting them.
It was also intended to send a message to the world that the Ghana army was equipped to deal decisively with any external aggression.
He assured the special forces had no intention of intimidating anybody especially members of the opposition New Patriotic Party.
However, Mustapha Hamid, spokesperson for NPP’s flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo expressed fears the creation of the elite forces, especially in an election year, betrays bad intentions by the government.
“That is an anomaly; why do we have to have a normal army contingent, a normal navy contingent, a normal air force contingent and then within the air force we have a special force…, I think that that requires some explanation from the Ghana Army, or from the Chief of Defence Staff or from the Ministry of Defence…,” he said.
At the 55th Independence Day Anniversary celebrations yesterday, the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Prof. John Evans Atta made a solemn pledge to sustain the peace in the country before, during and after the 2012 general elections.
“As President and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, I pledge to ensure that Ghana remains peaceful, before, during and after this year’s election.
As a nation, we have no other option but to “sustain the peace” that we are enjoying, in order to broaden the frontiers of our “democracy and development”.
President Mills reiterated his commitment to a peaceful election in December, but maintained that it did not only depend on the government, but also on the citizenry in general.
