Equip Armed Forces to deal with disasters - Former National Security Minister

A former National Security Minister, Francis Poku, has called for support for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for it to handle disasters of large magnitud effectively.

He said the cost of implementing a contingency plan and responding to disasters that required building back infrastructure to mitigate impact and supporting families could be frightening, which all governments had not been able to address effectively.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic last Tuesday after laying floral wreath at the Ceremonial Garden at the Jubilee House, Mr Poku, who was once at the helm of the country’s security architecture for many years, said he could not vouch for the country’s capacity to respond to large-scale disasters but added that supporting the military to fortify its capacity could fill the gap.

“So far, we seem to be recovering well from this disaster.

But I cannot say we have all it takes to respond to disasters. Although we’ve had earthquakes, floods and other disasters over the years, we don’t address all the issues that come up and the next government inherits the liability,” Mr Poku, who was in the company of former Inspector-General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu, stated.

To fill the gap, he suggested that GAF should be supported to undertake ventures that would increase its Internally Generated Funds (IGFs) for it to be equipped to shoulder such disasters when they struck.

“The military is competent enough to be part of our national development agenda,” he said, adding that it was an institution with varied expertise and professionals whose services could be commercialised to generate funds to support its operations, citing the various specialised units of the GAF.

Mr Poku said the August 6, 2025 helicopter crash was a clear case of national crisis because of the personalities involved, the purpose of the flight, an emergency that required the President to manage as the Commander-in-Chief, the impact on families and the country’s image, among other considerations.

Unity

In the ensuing circumstances, Mr Poku reiterated calls for unity in the aftermath of the helicopter disaster that left eight patriots dead, urging the nation to come to a consensus in dealing with its varied impact on families, communities and the nation.

The security expert said a national consensus was necessary to exhaustively deal with all ramifications of the national security crisis so that it did not dampen the confidence of citizens and the moral of any segment of the Ghanaian society.

Stigmatising regime

Mr Poku, who also served as the National Security Coordinator, said disasters could occur at any time, and that every regime had its fair share, stressing that how the people stood together and dealt with all the issues, including gaps that the crisis exposed for a better tomorrow, were far more important.

“I have heard some narratives that paint the regime as having bad luck. But stigmatising the regime is not the way to go. All regimes have had challenges,” he said.

The security chief recounted how a similar helicopter incident happened in the Atiwa Forest in March 2002 when he was National Security Coordinator, the stadium disaster of 2001 and the unfortunate Yendi crisis.

Again, the recent plane crash in India, a similar event in Indonesia, flooding in different parts of the world, could happen to any government, and, therefore, should not be tied to one regime, he said.

Opportunity to resolve galamsey

Mr Poku said the fact that the officials were on a trip as part of the solution to the menacing illegal mining operation, also known as galamsey, must strengthen the resolve and urgency to root out the challenge.

“Galamsey needs to be addressed because the threats are enormous. It threatens our cocoa industry, land, the environment, with international concerns.

“The best memory we can leave for the victims is to resolve the galamsey issue,” he stated.

He, however, added that resolving galamsey bordered on providing alternative livelihoods, as thousands of people now depended on it.

The former National Security chief, therefore, called for a non-partisan approach, where all political parties would be united behind the fight, stressing that “this is a fight that should be won; it’s a survival issue”.

Mr Poku urged the government to also ride on the back of the bulge of consensus from all quarters to deal with the issue.

He said dealing with galamsey should also address institutional weaknesses for regulations to work effectively.

For instance, he asked how the foreigners who financed the illegal business entered the country, how they secured and renewed their residence and work permits, and how they brought in the investment funds.

He said those issues cut across institutional, political and national issues around which national consensus should be built to confront them head on.

Board of Enquiry

On investigations into the cause of the crash and lessons to shape the future, Mr Poku had no doubt that the GAF would undertake a professional and objective enquiry and come out with findings with widespread implications to improve the current system.

“The board of enquiry the GAF has put in place will do quite an extensive work.

By their training, they will look at all aspects of issues; the accident scene, they will speak to stakeholders and experts, they will examine their own rules and procedures, the flight recorder (black box); civil aviation authority, the aircraft manufacturer, etc,” he explained.

He said nobody should entertain any doubt about the thoroughness of the investigation GAF had commissioned because they would have no reason to hide any fact, stressing that “it’s in their own interest to get the facts because it will inform the way they operate in the future”.

Prophecies

Speaking on the plethora of prophecies, Mr Poku said the country’s Constitution introduced the “God-factor” due to the nation’s belief in God as the source of hope and support in times of disasters and despair.

“So, religion comes in to strengthen us in moments of disaster and calamities.

We can see from the reaction of Christians and Moslems seeing the disaster as something that happens. 

“Unfortunately, there are groups that are exploiting the fears of people, making interpretations that are unhealthy,” he said.

Mr Poku called on the clergy to quickly confer among themselves and come up with solutions on how to control such behaviours among their peers, insisting that this should be addressed else it would blow up beyond control.

Related to that, the former security capo said public education and stakeholder discussions should be held to sensitise people, especially people in rural communities, to disaster response, making reference to some of the local people who arrived at the scene early and tampered with evidence.

He called on chiefs, churches and mosques, as well as community leaders to take such public education to their places of worship.