Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, Minister of Defence, on Monday commended the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for the foresight in procuring 389 vehicles valued at 242,500 dollars from the United Nations.
The acquisition, part of decommissioned vehicles by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) procured at concessionary rates, confirms the goodwill that the GAF enjoys internationally, he said.
Some of the vehicles are not in good working condition. Some have to be cannibalised to repair others, after which they would be distributed to all the units in the GAF.
Dr. Addo Kufuor said this when he visited the Base Workshop as part of his familiarisation tour of facilities of the Support Services Brigade (SSB). The Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Ben Akafia, Chief Director of the Ministry of Defence, Mr Samuel Saaka, the SSB Commander, Brigadier Lord Attivor and other senior officers accompanied him.
On arrival at the SSB Headquarters at Burma Camp, the Minister inspected a guard of honour mounted by three officers and 48 men, after which senior officers were introduced to him.After a debriefing session at the SSB Headquarters, Dr Addo Kufuor addressed a mini durbar of officers and men of the Brigade, where he introduced himself to them.
Other facilities of the Brigade the Minister visited included the Base Ordnance Depot, Base Supply Depot, 49 Engineer Regiment and the 37 Military Hospital.After inspecting the Base Supply Depot, the Minister said the GAF should patronise Ghana rice rather than the Vietnamese one it procures.
At the 49 Engineer Regiment, the Minister was told the Unit lacks facilities such as tipper trucks, concrete mixers and general construction hardware. He asked the Commanding Officer to submit their requirements to him. At the 37 Military Hospital he visited the wards and inspected projects, after which he also addressed a mini durbar of the staff of the hospital.
He commended the CDS for maintaining good standards at the hospital, saying, "so long as I remain the minister, I would make sure the 37 military Hospital becomes a centre of excellence". Dr Addo Kufuor said the hospital would be made a place for doctors to come from abroad to work, but said the decision requires deliberation from Cabinet.
