Minister grilled over army recruits
Lt Gen Joseph Henry Smith-Minister of Defence Lieutenant-General Joseph Henry Smith, Minister for Defence, was yesterday grilled for more than one hour by Members of Parliament (MPs), especially members from the Minority side, over the 420 army recruits whose training has been suspended by the President John Atta Mills administration.
The Defence Minister, who was in Parliament to answer a question posed by MP for Nkoranza North, Major Derek Yaw Oduro (rtd) on the fate of the army recruits, was constantly called to the microphone on the floor of the House after his initial presentation, as the MPs prod for more answers on the matter.
It would be recalled that after assuming the reins of power, President Mills' administration suspended the training of 420 army recruits who had been selected by the Kufuor administration in March 2008, setting tongues wagging over the motive behind the suspension, with some citing political reasons.
Gen. Smith who was constantly seen having tête-à-tête with the Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin, kept his cool and discipline throughout the interaction with the MPs although the legislators from the Minority side thought he was evasive on many of the questions thrown at him as they shouted “shame, shame”.
He told the House that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) commenced the 2008 General Recruitment Exercise on 10th March 2008 with the regional screening exercise and at the end of the initial screening, 798 applicants were shortlisted for further screening exercise in Accra.
The subsequent screening exercises, according to him, resulted in the selection of 420 applicants to undergo a six-month training at the Army Recruit Training School (ARTS) at Shai Hills from 31st January, 2009.
He stated that the Military High Command had to suspend the training programme following persistent complaints by the general public of anomalies in the recruitment exercise. A Board of Inquiry was set up to investigate the various complaints lodged.
Gen. Smith said investigations confirmed serious anomalies that flawed the well laid-down recruitment procedures in the Ghana Armed Forces, claiming for instance that from the 420 selected, only 228 applicants passed through all stages of the recruitment exercise with the remaining 192 illegally inserted.
Consequently, the Military High Command accepted a recommendation to suspend the recruitment of the 420 applicants selected for training.
A second reason for the suspension of recruitment, the Defence Minister mentioned, was that on a routine visit to garrisons, he observed that the infrastructure at ARTS was so inadequate that it would end up corrupting the final products, adding that recruitment funding for this year would be used to improve physical conditions in the training school.
He stated that the training of the 420 selected applicants had to be suspended in good faith in order to preserve the security and safety of the citizens of the State, and that enlistment processes are being reviewed to ensure that this situation is never repeated.
“As soon as the anomalies observed are rectified, a fresh recruitment exercise will be launched. Those affected applicants may re¬apply when the recruitment exercise resumes,” the Defence Minister concluded.