Army Officers Angry -Over Delay In Promotion

The Al-Hajj has picked very disturbing signals from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), suggesting some officers in the GAF who are due for promotion are yet to be promoted.

Badly affected The Al-Hajj learnt, are officers of the Ghana Navy, Army and Air Force who have duly passed their promotional exams, which was organized by the Promotional Board of the GAF in May 2012 and have met all the necessary requirement.

This situation is fueling claims amongst the rank and file of the military officers who are due for promotion that the Chief of Defense Staff, Lieutenant General Peter A. Blay, for reasons best known to him is starving them of their promotions after fulfilling all the needed requirements for the change in ranks. Intelligence report picked up by The Al-Hajj proves that amidst this ‘ragging storm,’ the affected officers who are due for promotion from Lieutenant to Captains, from Captains to Major, Major to Lieutenant Colonel and from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel are seething and fuming with intense anger A source told The Al-Hajj “after every promotional exam by the GAF, which is organized every year, those of us who pass the exams must be promoted to our various ranks. But this year we don’t know what is happening. The year is about ending and we’ve not heard anything from the outfit of the CDS relating to our promotion”

“If there is no promotion this year, it will affect next year’s promotion. I wonder why they have decided to deny us of our promotion after we’ve gone through all the necessary requirements” the source disclosed. But, in a direct respond, the Public Relations Officer of the GAF, Col M’Bawine Atintande denied assertions that this year’s promotions for officers are being denied them.

He noted that passing the promotional exams is just one of the huddles an officer must cross before promotion and further explained that there are several requirements that an officer must meet before he/she is promoted.

“Promotion is done every year, we are now in November…the year has not ended yet...passing your exams does not only mean that you are due for promotion, sometimes you can pass the exams all right, but you need to serve in your rank for four years to be promoted from Lieutenant to Captain and to be promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel you have to serve in that rank for seven years and it follows like that..” Col Atintande noted

He advised members of the Force to seek redress for their misgivings at the appropriate avenues within the GAF, adding that issues relating to the Military should not be debated in the media.