Soldiers go wild over unpaid peacekeeping cash

Government’s months of silence on the unpaid allowances owed 70 soldiers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) who went on peacekeeping mission in South Sudan is generating grave anger among members of the contingent.

March 24 this year was precisely three weeks when the 70 soldiers returned to Ghana from their mission, and, according to some members of the contingent who spoke with The Chronicle on condition of anonymity, the government owes each of them an amount of US$5,400.

“Therefore, put together, the government owes members of our contingent a total amount of US$378,000. The issue is we do not even have any idea when they intend to settle us,” one of the disgruntled soldiers said bitterly.

The Commanding Officer (CO) of the contingent was Colonel C.K. Ayiku, the peeved soldiers disclosed, adding that they left the shores of Ghana for the peacekeeping in February 2015 and returned on March 3, 2016.

Fuming with rage, the soldiers wondered why the government would be withholding their ‘own dollars’ after leaving their families to risk their lives in defense of the country at the peril of their lives. Another soldier bemoaned: “We admit that we have sworn an oath to lay down our lives to protect the good people of this country, but I do not believe this is how we are to be rewarded for our efforts.”

The least ranked personnel among the contingent was a Private soldier (pte), and according to the complaining soldiers, the government is taking them for granted by withholding their monies, because they could not don red arm bands to hit the streets to protest.

The team explained that some of them would be going on retirement soon, while the others said they needed the money to help them venture into some vital businesses for their families. The government’s continuous withholding of their money, they said, could trigger them to break their oath to the state and the GAF, the force they have been serving for all these years.

This is not the first time the men in green have complained about the way and manner they are being treated anytime they return from peacekeeping operations. In 2010, about 850 soldiers who were deployed on a peacekeeping mission encountered similar problems.

Furthermore, in 2011 and 2012, where 450 and 512 soldiers respectively were dispatched to Lebanon and Congo on peacekeeping missions, complaints akin to the above were recorded. In January, 2015, Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor, Minister of Defence, inaugurated a 10-member Technical Committee, under the Chairmanship of Brigadier General Kwame Oppong-Otchere, to review the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) United Nations Peacekeeping Operations here in Accra.

The committee was expected, among others, to formulate policy for accepting offers for participating in new missions, and review the equipment procurement system, including standardisation. The committee was also to determine the procedure for requisition for funds from GAF Peace Support, Operation Accounts and levels of authorisation, and review of sources of funding, including determination of dedicated sources of finance/funding for Peace Support Operations.

Inaugurating the committee, Dr. Kunbuor stressed the need to ensure the maintenance of professionalism, courage and commitment to duty, which the GAF had earned over the years under the UN flag across the globe.

He noted that concerns had been raised about the financing and financial obligations of the peacekeeping accounts, in the light of the migration of the UN Operations from the Dry Lease to Wet System, in which contributing countries are expected to contribute personnel and hardware to the operations on their own. He stated that the Dry Lease System involved huge capital outlay, hence the need to ensure value for money in the acquisition of equipment for the various theaters.