Support Defence & Security activities for Development Programmes — Mfantseman MP to MDAs

By Christiana Afua Nyarko

Accra, July 14, GNA – Ms Ophelia Mensah Hayford, the Member of Parliament for the Mfantseman constituency, has called for an effective collaboration between the Defence and security sector and Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to support security and defence related proagrammes. 

Ms Mensah Hayford made this call at the closing of the 2023 edition of the Defence Management Course (DMC) held by the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) at Teshie. 

The lawmaker said short courses such as the DMC held by GAFCSC went beyond the impartation of knowledge and skills on defence issues to military personnel but also, promoted effective collaboration between the Defence and security sector stakeholders and academia, government institutions, and the private sector.  

The lawmaker said, would contribute to effective security within the country, the subregion, thus, leading to development. 

“The increasing sophistication and illusive nature of threats in today’s world, puts defence and security in a more delicate process, thereby, making training in the management of defence and security, a critical requirement for any nation, for which reason GAFCSC’s DMC was designed to expose both uniformed and civilian personnel working within the security sector, to principles and techniques for governance and management,” she said. 

 The MP who doubles as the Vice Chairperson for the Select Committee on Defence and Interior, commended GAFCSC for running practical programmes such as the DMC, which she said had the principal objective to equip participants to deal with defence and its related issues within the wider context of national and regional security. 

“The course objectives are relevant and key for Africa’s continued regional development, as they are also relevant to the development of each of the nations of GAFCSC’s allied students, and that of Africa as a whole”, she said. 

She challenged GAFCSC to seek innovative ways of further engagements with MDAs of Government, industry, and private sector to develop new programmes, products, best practices to help upgrade the skills of the Ghanaian work force, as well as in the continent as a whole. 

Madam Mensah Hayford, a former Police Officer said Defence Management had become a more multi-agency task, which required varied skills and capabilities, and that no single agency could develop all these capabilities required to manage it. 

This year’s GAFCSC’s Defence Management Course recorded a total of 118 participants. Thirty-three were from the Weekend Master of Science and Defence in International Politics (MDIP) Class of 2023.  

Eighty-five were on the Senior Command and Staff Course 44. They comprised of 60 senior officers from the Ghana Armed Forces and 25 from 11 other allied African countries namely; Benin, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Togo. 

The rest included representatives drawn from MDAs. 

Present at the ceremony was the Commandant of GAFCSC, Major General Irvine Ayittey Aryeetey and his Deputy Commandant, Brigadier General Seidu Abass, the Director Academic Affairs, Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso amongst others. 

GNA