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05.02.2009 Politics

Mills military cronyism agenda begins

05.02.2009 LISTEN
By The Statesman

Investigation conducted by The Statesman has unearthed a dangerous plot by the National Democratic Congress government, headed by President Mills, to "cleanse' and pack the Ghana Armed Forces with activists of the ruling NDC.

In pursuit of this agenda in this very sensitive state institution which is supposed to be insulated from partisan political manipulations, 420 recruits of 2008 who turned up for training Saturday as programmed were sent back home.

Also, a circular to all 230 NDC constituency offices to provide a list of four people each to not only replace the 420 who had gone through the procedures of the 2008 recruitment exercise, but also to make up the numbers of this year"s recruitment list, has received  quick enthusiastic responses from party branches.

The Statesman intercepted a wireless message sent by Air Commodore Dovlo on Friday, January 30 ordering the suspension of the training exercise. (The message is reproduced in full below). And, true to it, the cadets who turned up at the weekend were sent back to their various hometowns.

The recruitment exercise which began in February 2008 had been planned to see the first batch of recruits commencing their training at the Shai Hills military training camp from today, Monday, February 2.

The 420 military recruits who had successfully gone through all the required stages of the exercise, and had been duly given their appointment letters, were accordingly instructed to report at the El Wak stadium at the weekend for the necessary briefing ahead of their departure to encamp at the Shai Hills.

The recruits who reported at the El Wak stadium were told to go back home because the recruitment process had been halted, due to what their instructors explained to be "technical hitches.'

Looking puzzled and crestfallen, the ill-fated young men and women had no option than to go back to their various destinations, wondering what might have accounted for the last-minute cancellation of the exercise which they said had been smooth since it started in February last year.

Some of them who spoke with our reporter at the El Wak expressed total shock at the development, and especially found it difficult to believe the reasons given by the officers for the suspension of the exercise.

'My spirit is really down and I don't know what is going to happen to us.

Some of the officers told us they would call us to come back next week; others said the exercise has been suspended because of technical hitches, and that they would call us back soon. But I don"t believe what they told us; I think there is more than what they told us,' one of the disappointed recruits told The Statesman.

The Statesman gathered that the order for the suspension of the recruitment programme came only Friday night, hence the inability of the officer in charge to relay it to the recruits, to stop them from making the journey to the El Wak stadium, Accra.

Also, contrary to claims that the exercise was halted due to 'technical hitches', checks made by our reporter show that the suspension is part of an elaborate scheme on the part of the NDC to 'cleanse' the military and dominate it with NDC activists as part of an undemocratic plan to insulate the NDC hold on power from any meaningful opposition challenge.

Further checks made by our reporter show that the NDC intends to come up with a new list of recruits for 2008 and 2009. Already the party's 230 constituency offices across the country have responded by presenting a list of 4 names each, totalling 920.

Air CDRE Dovlo's wireless message:
'SUSPENSION OF ARMY REC TRG 1/9 PD DIR MN TRG BE SUSPENDED UFN PD ARMY HQ TO INFO ARTS PD GHQ (MED) CMM DADMIN ARMY CMM DMR AND DMP TO FWD ALL DOCUS IN RELATION TO MN EX TO OFFICE OF DGPA BY 0900HRS MON 02 FEB PD ALL TO ACCEPT FOR URGENT ACTION'

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