‘Security agencies must make decisions on professional knowledge’

Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur on Friday charged the security agencies to make decisions based on their professional knowledge and traditional values imbued in them.

He said the public would no longer accept excuses for their errors, and that, the decisions they make would be subject to scrutiny.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur was speaking at the graduating ceremony of the Senior Officers Course 35 at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra.

The 66 Senior Officers, who graduated from the course, were made up 42 Ghanaians and 24 officers from Nigeria, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Malawi and Zambia.

The new graduates were awarded Masters of Arts Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy, Governance and Leadership, as well as Post Graduate Diploma in Defence and Conflict Studies and Public Administration.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur stated that the GAFSCS would continue to excel if its products continue to adhere to the values of honesty, discipline and hard work.

He said the graduates have a moral responsibility to use the skills and values acquired from GAFCSC to be an example in whatever environment they find themselves.

“Your role as a leader will be judged by your character, your level of competence and the care that you have for your subordinates,” he said.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur also urged the Senior Officers to use the knowledge they have acquired to deal with any challenges they may face in the future.

He said “the training you have received from the college is not an end in it itself”, adding that, their countries would demands returns from them.

He charged them to work hard to contribute to the development of their respective countries and its armed forces.

Air Vice Marshall Issifu Sakib Kadri, Commandant GAFCSC stated that the college is poised to roll out its own post graduate programme of Master of Science degree in Defence and International Politics by September this year.

He said the college has already designed the programme for accreditation from the National Accreditation Board, and that, the programme would be mentored by Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) until the college attains a full university status.

He said there are also plans for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to provide programmes in logistics and Msc in Procurement and Supply Chain Management, adding that, the college is also poised for a PHD programme in Defence and International Politics in the near future.

Air Vice Marshall Kadri also noted that despite the improvements in infrastructural facilities, the college has found it extremely difficult in raising funds to run its core programmes, including the environmental study tours as well as administering the students.

He said the college has a strong international community presence, therefore the need to preserve and further improve on the enviable international standards chalked over the years.

He commended CDH Financial Holdings for supporting the college with GH¢150,000 for refurbishment and providing the school with new fiber optic cable network and stable wireless internet broadband coverage.