Retired military officers under a new civil society organisation, the Alliance For Safeguarding The Integrity of the Security Services (ASISS), have pressed the alarm button over what they consider the wanton sale of properties belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces across the country.
Their statement on the subject and signed by Lt Col A. Serebour (RTD), Wg Cdr B.A Asamoah (RTD) and Major N. Mensah (RTD) expressed disgust at what they claim is the “indiscriminate sale of Ghana Armed Forces properties going on around the country.”
The phenomenon, they added, has the potential to inhibit future development and expansion of the service.
Continuing, they stated that “the other side of the coin which must be condemned in no uncertain terms is when the greed and personal interest of a few people lead to wanton dissipation of an organisation’s properties at the expense of the organisational growth and development.”
They were emphatic that some properties of the military, including historic places were being sold out to private developers, something which, according to them, the hierarchy of the military must pull the brakes over as a means of protecting and preserving the forces’ heritage for future generations.
Turning to specifics, the retired officers pointed at the No. 1 Roman Ridge residence, the official residence of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), which, according to them, is about to be sold under suspicious arrangements.
Information reaching them, they stated, is that the Army Officers’ Mess opposite the Military Hospital in Accra is cm the verge of being sold out for the construction of a shopping mall and a private hospital.
Such a location for a shopping mall, they lamented, would create a lot of inconveniences for the movement of ambulances and persons to and from the military hospital.
The Ghana Armed Forces large track of land on Drake Avenue, Airport Residential Area in Accra which housed a former CDS they said is also about to be sold out to a private developer for the construction of 20-unit houses for the military while the remaining portion of 10 acres for his own development.
“Who approved this bad deal? Was value for money analysis and audit done on the deal? Was this huge strategic property given out to a crony?” they queried.
Another land already sold to a developer for the construction of a Goil Fuel station that has sprung up is the stretch along the road near Labadi Villa junction.
Some portions of the land at the Teshie Camp off the T-junction have also been sold out and development is ongoing.
Reliable information reaching them, according to the statement is that the spree is not limited to Accra but to other garrisons across the country.
“We demand immediate answers to these crucial questions from the Ghana Armed Forces hierarchy. These properties belong to the nation and citizens have the right to know all circumstances surrounding their sale,” they said.
They are particularly asking Brig Joseph Nunoo-Mensah to intervene as he did some time ago when it was rumoured that the Roman Ridge MOD property was on the verge of being sold in 2008.
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