Security analyst Samuel Owusu has cautioned that Ghana’s Acting Minister for Defence, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, does not have the authority to make critical national security and defence decisions, warning that the arrangement could weaken the country’s defence operations and diplomatic engagements.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Joshua Kodjo Mensah on Monday, October 27, Mr. Owusu explained that Dr. Forson’s role as caretaker is largely administrative and supervisory, lacking the powers to make binding defence-related decisions.
“His role is just, putting it mildly, is only to supervise and see what they are doing to coordinate it, and probably report to the president or the national security when they start stepping in,” he said.
According to him, “No acting minister or a minister in the acting capacity, especially in regards to defence, will be able to take decisions just like that.”
Mr. Owusu described the dual role of Dr. Forson as both Finance Minister and caretaker Defence Minister as “a very uncomfortable situation for us as a nation,” stressing that the workload and the sensitivity of both roles make the current arrangement unsustainable.
He warned that the absence of a substantive Defence Minister is already affecting key operational and diplomatic engagements, particularly Ghana’s peacekeeping and regional security commitments.
“The impact then is likely to be we may have to delay certain implementation of programmes and projects. We may have to also delay in certain arrangements that would have to progressively catapult what we do in a foreign land.”
He further noted that even internal military operations could face challenges, as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and senior officers would have to seek presidential clearance before taking key decisions — a situation he described as risky and inefficient.
Mr. Owusu emphasized that “no acting minister, especially in regard to defence, will be able to take decisions just like that,” warning that such a vacuum in authority could compromise Ghana’s security coordination and delay vital responses.
His comments follow growing pressure from the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, who has slammed the government’s failure to appoint a substantive Defence Minister nearly three months after the death of Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, describing the situation as “dangerous and reckless.”
Rev. Fordjour has warned that the prolonged vacancy poses serious risks to Ghana’s territorial integrity and national security amid growing threats and instability.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
