The minority in Parliament has kicked against a new law that will allow junior ranks in the Ghana Armed Forces to serve for 30 years before retirement.
Until Tuesday when the new law came into effect, persons who served 25 years in the Ghana Armed Force automatically retired whether they have achieved the country’s retirement age of 60 or otherwise.
Minority spokesperson on Defence and the Interior, James Agalga, held the new law is not a laudable idea.
He argued an effective force must be youthful and agile, but warned the new law will only weaken the force instead of enhancing its ability.
“The point that needs to be made is that we are here talking about a fighting force, a fighting force is one that must be agile, a fighting force is one that must be youthful,” he said, but added “a policy which seeks to extend the service period of the other ranks from 25 years to 30 years in my view is a misplaced priority,”
In contended that the law “should not be pursued [because] a fighting force which is aged cannot have the spirit and efficiency to defend our territorial integrity”.
The Builsa North MP claimed a research he conducted showed the service period for the Ghanaian military is far more than that of the United Kingdom and the United States, hence does not see why it should be increased again.
“In the UK for instance, the maximum period of service for service men and women is 22 years, in the United states, the maximum period of service for the other ranks is 18 years and so we are even more advanced in terms of the service period,” he argued.
He further raised concerns about the implications of the extension of service years on the health of the officers and on the public purse.
But the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul questioned why Mr. Agalga who is a ranking member of the committee which passed the LI would turn around to raise concerns.
“This policy was bought into this house in the form of an LI, LI 1332. This Parliament has accepted it as at yesterday; the 21 days has elapsed; it has become law”.
He thus did not understand why the MP would come back in an attempt to debate the law which his committee deliberated on and approved.
Source: 3news.com
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Thanks to ignorance and illiteracy, nobody will vote for the NDC Party. Even in opposition, they are incompetent.
What the MP Agalga forgotten to know or to find out are: What are the benefit of those military in UK and USA after their retirement, two, their standard of living in those countries, three, their educational standard of their children after retirement, four, the housing benefit of those military officers in the UK and USA just to mentioned few to educate him. He should never be ***barred word*** about some of the things soldiers pass through after retirement, especially where to send their children to school or to lay their heads.
when will we read and understand and act appropriately. a whole MP passes a law and turn round 360 to kick against it as if he was not part of it...how? simply they do not read and can never read and want to drag us all into this upsurdity.
I think what the MP is saying must be considered because we are talking about a fighting force here even though he was part of the committee which accepted the law.