Alfred Adams Sekondi
2 November 2009
Accra — THE Vice President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, has noted that the government recognises and appreciates the tremendous effort and high sense of professionalism exhibited by personnel of the Ghana Navy over the year, in spite of the numerous challenges facing them.
"Many of us do not often see the Navy at work, and therefore tend not to value the usefulness and the positive contributions made by them towards national aspirations and development," Vice President Mahama told the personnel.
This, he explained, was because the duties and operations of the Navy were mostly performed at sea and therefore out of sight to the general public.
Mr. Mahama, who was speaking at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Ghan Navy in Sekondi last Saturday, observed that the Navy had been performing its role with limited resources in terms of equipment and logistics.
As a result, the government would, within the constraints of the economy, ensure that the Navy was equipped with the requisite resources.
According to him, as a first step to ensuring the retooling of the navy, the accommodation challenge facing the security service was receiving attention from the government, adding "that is why a 300-acre land was being acquired at Aboadze for the construction of a Naval Village."
Veep Mahama noted that the provision of modern equipment, and the maintenance of ships, was another area receiving attention from the government.
On the maintenance of ships, Vice President Mahama pointed out that efforts were being made to complete the ongoing naval dockyard slipway and test bench projects.
It is envisaged that on completion of these projects, the Navy would be in a position to partner foreign shipyards to carry out local refits of naval ships.
The slipway would also offer invaluable support to the many oil-related vessels expected to operate in Ghanaian waters.
With regard to platforms for operations at sea, Mahama noted that the government was pursuing ship acquisition from China, and had also identified some ships in Germany and South Korea for possible acquisition in the near future for the Navy.
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