Ghana navy to protect Bui Dam

A detachment of naval personnel is being sent to the Bui Dam area in the Brong Ahafo Region to complement the efforts of infantry men presently based there to protect the national asset. Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Rear Admiral Mawuko Bierkro disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle in Accra recently. According to the CNS, the detachment, made up of an officer and 10 men, who are at the moment on standby, will be given the green light as soon as the relevant equipment for their operations, which will be provided by National Security, are ready.

Rear Admiral Bierkro stated that human activities in the area have prompted the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to deploy men from the infantry regiment there, and that the naval detachment will concentrate mainly on negative activities in the Bui River and tributaries that hinder the flow of water into the reservoir to turn the turbines of the generators.

The Navy Commander was emphatic on galamseyers (illegal miners) on the tributaries and fishing in restricted areas that pose a danger to the facility. In a related development, the GAF has entered into an arrangement with Bulk Oil Supply and Transport (BOST) for the supply of fuel for its activities.

Information gathered by The Chronicle from a highly placed GAF Command source, also intimated that the Armed Forces had started this year on a clean sheet by clearing its indebtedness to the contractors who supplied them with food items.

The good news has come in the wake of allegations of a fuel shortage that has hit some of the security agencies.

The Chief Executive Officer of BOST, Awuah Darko, when contacted, confirmed the story and said that the source of supply will come from the national strategic stock, a brainchild of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), BOST and Ghana Oil (GOIL), with the latter’s subsidiary, Gold Energy, serving as a Bulk Distribution Company (BDC) for the importation of petroleum products.

According to Mr. Darko, it is the wish of the strategic stock operators to feed key state institutions which would need fuel for their activities, and that it was using the Armed Forces on a pilot basis. He continued that if the pilot project with the GAF becomes successful, it will spread it to the Ghana Police and Ghana National Fire services.

On the National Strategic Stock, the BOST boss hinted that it was presently secured with three weeks stock, and hoped it would be 4½ weeks by the end of this year.

He concluded that the target set for the National Strategic Stock is six weeks, and was optimistic that it would be met at the right time. Under the National Strategic Stock, GNPC raises letters of credit to GOIL, which uses its subsidiary, Gold Energy, to import petroleum products for storage in tanks owned by BOST.