HOW TO MOVE THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE GHANA ARMED FORCE AND GHANA POLICE FROM THE CAPITAL CITY

If one were to conduct interviews among people that had followed meticulously our history about the behaviour of these two institutions and how they have shaped our history, interesting results will be gathered. Though they had a very important function to play with regards to our security, these service men had let us down on several occasions. Therefore, the call to move their headquarters outside the capital city is not surprising. We believe strongly that they shall perform their service better if they were to secure appropriate environment, which will provide them support to carry out their responsibilities, successfully. How should the decision to get these institutions out from the capital city proceed? Who are to commence the discussion of this famous decision? What part should the public play as well as the sitting President of the country play?

To begin with a few parliamentarians should gather together to write a bill to the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana. They could transcend partisanship but that is not very essential, by this we mean, those who will write the initial motion should be honourable gentlemen from the different parties that form the parliament in general. In this bill, they should describe the importance of these service men and the accomplishment they had performed since the nation was founded. They should congratulate them on everything they believe these service men had been involved that they think they deserve praise. Once these have been explained, then they shall come to the point where, due to their proximity to the city and the fact that they had been closed to the power structure, things had fallen out of their hands to commit what should be regarded as crimes against the state and its inhabitants. Overthrowing governments is not only treason (treachery) but abuse of their power to act as guardians and security men to this young nation. Consequently, they have disgraced themselves and their profession by so doing to overthrow properly (constitutionally) elected governments of the people of Ghana. Many other things can be brought against them, especially the raping of women and beating of innocent women and public service men that missed their lives when all these atrocities were carried out. Not the least, those grandparents and women that were whipped by their backs and sent out to be disgraced in public.

They had no audacity to have carried out these atrocities. Today, the people of Ghana have come to the realisation that the only manner where these atrocities could never be repeated is a move to place the headquarters of the Ghana Armed Force in Sunyani, Brong Ahafo, and the Ghana Police their headquarters in Ho, the Volta region. Their crimes should stated clearly and number; if possible people that had fallen victims should be interviewed and add to this appealing bill.

The bill will then be followed by a debate by those who wish to maintain these institutions in the capital cities and those who will support this famous bill. It is possible that there will be a vote on this; and if it unanimous or above those that wish to maintain, then it will be carried and then it could be passed to become a law in the country. The movement does not necessarily have to be carried immediately. I think the movement of these institutions to their various destinations should take at least ten years. Later when this had been settled, surely, there would be some victims who could sue the state for the atrocities committed by the servicemen.

Here are some guidelines to be followed:
The Government of Ghana will employ qualified surveyors to go and survey all these two areas: Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo and Ho in the Volta.

Money is voted by parliament to start the commencing of these projects. The Government of Ghana could apply for financial aid and help from the United Nations and the Ministry of Culture, The European Union. The Governments of Japan and Israel could also be contacted since they had also suffered from such atrocities.

Buildings in these sites are commenced with the initial building to be devoted to the high ranking officers and their families. The Complex office buildings should be built, first for the majority that shall be moving there. But the housing of the high ranking officers should be built and these should be flats or monumental apartment buildings and not self-contained houses which consume land and resources. It is high time we rationalised concerning the utilisation of lands in the country.

The high ranking officers should move there first and later those other officers should follow as the projects proceed.

Those houses to be left at Accra could be occupied by the public or the government could plan to build monumental apartments for the masses that can be bought through “the right to live in method”.

The movement of these offices should be done while the dual carriage road to these two places from Accra should follow suit. (Accra—Kumasi; Kumasi—Sunyani and Accra---Ho). These roads will make it easy for the troupes to be sent in when they are needed. It should be remembered that it is only the headquarters of these institutions that are to be moved. The regional depots, like for example, Madina Police, Adabraka Police, Texano Pilice, and etc are to remain in Accra. So also are the few Army officers that will be required to station at the capital city together with the Ghana Navy should stay behind.

In conclusion, it could be asserted that the advantages of these removals of headquarters would be the acceleration of different developments that would occur in the country. It would bring order and neatness into the country as well as illuminate on the division of labour principle advocated by Adam Smith. The public would be made more aware of the functions of the Courts, the Police, and the Army in the country. It will bring to light how these powerful institutions have to co-operate to bring order and security into the young country Ghana. Above all, it would make the power structure more complex and this would make it difficult for any vagabond to assert himself as a leader without being elected by the people of Ghana. It will signal the end of confusion in the country which had cost Ghana and its citizens millions of dollars stolen by their dictators who had no sympathy for the poor, the weak, the Holy, and the sovereign.

By Desmond Ayim-Aboagye