Kufuor urges Ghanaians to sustain peace and stability

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday charged Ghanaians to collectively help in sustaining the pervasive peace and stability as well as the promotion of good governance in the country.

"For without the strengthening and deepening of these attributes, the nation cannot expect to develop well, and even the gains made so far will be endangered."

President Kufuor was speaking at the inauguration of the new Burma Hall Complex at the Burma Camp in Accra.

The construction of the project, which started in 2003, was financed with resources made available from the Peacekeeping Account of the Ghana Armed Forces, and a 1.2 million-dollar grant from the Chinese Government.

President Kufuor said the professionalism of the security received a toast whenever duty called around the world, citing the Congo, the Middle East, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone and lately the Cote d'Ivoire examples.

He said the security forces had achieved this distinction not merely by accident but as a result of continual training from recruitment of the other ranks and the officer cadet corps with enormous emphasis placed on rigorous physical and intellectual training. "It goes without saying, therefore, that our security forces, especially the Military, must accept the responsibility to be the anchor for the sustenance of the regime of peace and stability," he stressed. President Kufuor also said the new Burma Hall complex was just one more addition to the improvement and refurbishment that had been undertaken by the Government to enhance the conditions under which soldiers lived and worked.

He cited the completion of the 37th Military Hospital; the Accra Forces Mechanical Transport School; the Burma Camp Computer Centre; Beijing Barracks and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre as some of the projects which would go a long way to solve some of the problems of the Military.

He said despite the Government achievements in increasing the stock of accommodation at the barracks, salaries and aggregation of retirement benefits still bedevilled the Military.

"Let me assure you that the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Pension are receiving serious attention to enable them to be accommodated as far as the limitations of the economy would permit" he said.

The President also urged the Military to make full use the library, which had been attached to the complex to maximize their opportunities for studies.

Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, Minister of Defence, said the new complex was a collaborative effort between the Government of Ghana and China to build an edifice to reflect the enviable reputation the Ghana Armed Forces currently enjoyed in the world.

He said an important hallmark in President Kufuor's administration had been the construction of significant landmarks on the Military landscape as well as the construction and rehabilitation of Military barracks.

He praised Professor Stephen Addae, a retired Physician, Physiologists and Historian of the University of Ghana Medical School, for his comprehensive research and writing of the history of the Ghana Armed Forces in six volumes.

He also commended the architects, the designers and the numerous Ghanaian artisans and craftsmen and the China State Hualong Construction Limited for their excellent work done on the project. Professor Steven Addae later presented a copy of the first volume to President Kufuor, who is also the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.