At a ceremony at Medo Lines, Burma Camp, Accra on Thursday, July 9, 2026, the “ground-breaking” of the BURMA-CAMP-REDEVELOPMENT-PROJECT took place.
The ceremony had as the Guest of Honour the Deputy Minister for Defence, Brogya Genfi.
Also present were the CDS, Lt Gen. William Agyapong, the service chiefs and the Chief-of-Staff at the General Headquarters, as well as many generals and senior officers. There were also Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and their families.
Corporate Ghana was well represented.
So, what was this “ground-breaking” ceremony for the Burma Camp Redevelopment Project about?
History
At a function at the Officer Cadets’ Mess, Ghana Military Academy (GMA), Teshie on April 25, 2026, the CDS stated his vision to redevelop some areas at Burma Camp, hence the
“Burma Camp Redevelopment Project.” What inspired/underpinned this vision?
Flashback into history: until Independence in 1957, when Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah renamed the military Cantonment Burma Camp, it was called “Giffard Camp,” named after British General George Giffard. Burma, in South-East Asia, was one of the operational areas in which the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF), which included Ghanaian soldiers, fought under Gen. Giffard. To this day, some of the accommodation infrastructure in Burma Camp built before independence still exists, and has suffered from the ravages of time, making it unsafe for further habitation by troops.
Inspiration/motivation
As to what inspired or motivated his vision, the CDS spoke of his earliest recollections of the El-Wak Barracks, built by General Acheampong in the 1970s, when he came to live there as a primary school boy. He said it was like a “four-star hotel” to him.
The accommodation at both El-Wak Barracks and Burma Camp was simply exquisite!
Having, later in life, been commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1990 and grown to become the CDS, he realised that, over time, his childhood four-star hotel at El-Wak Barracks, as well as other accommodation buildings, had deteriorated badly.
He, therefore, felt the urgent need to develop parts of Burma Camp, hence the Burma Camp Redevelopment Project.
Soldiers would ,therefore, soon return from a tiring day in the field to decent homes with a calming ambience.
He was quick to add, however, that he did not intend this project to be a one-stop shop during his tenure.
He emphasised that he was only starting the first leg of a relay, which he hoped CDS would continue after him.
To this end, at the April 25, 2026 meeting at the GMA, he made a passionate appeal to corporate Ghana to support GAF in this exercise.
Additionally, he appointed a four-member team as the Board of Trustees (BOT) to manage the fund.
These are Nana Ansah Kwao IV, the Chief of Akwamu-Adumasa, Brig. Gen. George Abosi Oppong, the Director-General, Defence Industries Department (DG DID), Brig. Gen. Jonas Kwame Wiafe, the Director-General, Department of Engineer Services (DG DES) and Brig. Gen. Dan Frimpong (Rtd) as Chairman.
The Project Management Team comprised Brig Gen Kwame Wiafe and Colonel Carl Sabah as supervising engineers and Lt Col Gertrude Oppong-Ansah as project architect.
‘Ground-breaking’
The “ground-breaking” ceremony on Thursday, July 9, 2026, therefore, marked the official commencement of the “Burma Camp Redevelopment Project.” Three projects were started simultaneously at three locations with a symbolic demolition of old structures.
The two in Burma Camp were the old Medo Lines buildings opposite the Base Workshop Market and the St Catherine’s Catholic Church, contracted to the St Johnwood Ltd and the old Burma Camp Post Office contracted to HMS Ltd.
The third, old structures at the El-Wak Barracks have been contracted to Belamos Ltd.
The project architect, Lt Col Gertrude Oppong-Ansah, stated that, upon completion, the Medo Lines site, which until the demolition housed 32 families, will house 180 families in decent housing.
Summary
Commending the corporate world for their generous donations, Brig. Gen. Oppong thanked them copiously and hoped that the few who are yet to make good their pledges would do so soon.
He also thanked the Military High Command and some retired officers for the donation in support of the project.
While thanking the CDS for his audaciousness and bold initiative and all and sundry for their support and contributions, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees tasked two Burma Camp childhood friends he called the “twin-soja-pikins,” Maj. Gen. GKT Sam and ace broadcaster Kwami Sefa Kayi (Peace FM’s Dan Kwaku Yeboah’s “soja-pikin” to spearhead a drive for contributions from officers and men, serving and retired.
Reminding the gathering of the adage “charity begins at home,” the Chairman of the Board of Trustees added that anyone who has enjoyed Burma Camp/military infrastructure, whether by schooling, worshipping at churches/mosques, or living in barracks, must contribute generously to this worthy cause through the CDS.
To the CDS and his team of the Military High Command, well done and congratulations! God bless you for your service to God and country.
Long live the Ghana Armed Forces! God bless our homeland Ghana! Leadership, lead by example/humility/integrity! Fellow Ghanaians, wake up!
The writer is a former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association, Nairobi, Kenya; Council Chairman, the Family Health University, Teshie, Accra.
E-mail:
