Woyongo tours military establishments in Accra

The Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Woyongo, has appealed to the security agencies to continue to dedicate themselves to ensuring the maintenance of peace, stability, law and order in the country.

That, he said, was the only way that the country would continue to enjoy its status as the beacon of peace and democracy in Africa.

Mr Woyongo made the appeal when he paid a familiarisation visit  to some military institutions in Accra to have  first-hand experience of their work yesterday.

Some of the places he visited were the Southern Command Headquarters, the Military Academy and Training School (MATS), the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College and the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping and Training Centre.

At the Southern Command Headquarters, the minister inspected a quarter guard and later was briefed by Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Kpierele, the Command Operation Officer, who also doubles as the Command Logistics Officer.

Lt Colonel Kpierele explained to the minister the measures put in place to ensure peace and harmony in the country.

He cited some of the internal threats as chieftaincy and land disputes, religious and ethnic conflicts and criminal activities.

He said currently, as part of ongoing measures to ensure peace and security in the country, the command had rapid deployment forces on standby to maintain law and order.

At  MATS, Mr Woyongo assured the school of the government’s commitment to provide adequate resources for it, despite the current financial constraints.

“It does not matter whether the government is poor or not; we will do everything in our power to give you the necessary resources needed for your work,” he said.

He, however, urged them not to take the current peace enjoyed in the country for granted but work towards ensuring that agitations that might cause fear and panic in the country were resolved.

Mr Woyongo also visited the 37 Military Hospital to assess healthcare delivery there as a result of the ongoing strike by doctors.

He visited the Emergency and Paediatric wards, where he had interactions with patients on admission, and the OPD.

He lauded the effort of the staff of the hospital for providing swift response to health delivery following the strike by doctors and pharmacists. The Commander of the 37 Military Hospital, Brigade General Yao Kponyoh,  said as part of measures to provide adequate health care, annual leaves had been suspended and all staff who were on leave had been called back to work.

Story: Zainabu Issah