Former Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom, Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi, has cautioned against proposals to increase Ghana’s military and police recruitment thresholds without first addressing poor remuneration and logistical constraints.
His comment follows proposals by Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George and South Dayi MP Rockson Dafeamekpor to raise the military recruitment age to 35.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey on Friday, October 10, Dr. Kissi argued that the state must prioritize paying and equipping current personnel before considering the expansion of the security services.
He highlighted the instance of the nurses and midwives who recently protested over unpaid salaries.
“You’ve hired nurses. You can’t pay them. You’ve hired doctors, you can’t pay them for 10 months. So, I mean, yesterday I was at a forum where I was like, listen, we have a sick country where others get signing bonus to start working, and their salaries come every month. We have the reverse, where you are recruited for 10 months, no monies. You’re expected to rent, live, and manage your life. How?
So when we’ve solved these current issues, where those we have even employed or engaged are being paid, then you can tell me that, oh, we have the well-worth to then either improve on the numbers that we employ in the military or security services and all of those things,” he said.
He further expressed frustration with poor living conditions and incentives within the police service.
“Ideally, I’ll be happy if we get to a point where the la-la-soo-la-la within police service will stop because they are well-paid and, more importantly, well taken care of.”
Dr. Adomako Kissi advised government to “improve the conditions of service of the existing military, police, and all that” and to ensure accountability in budgeting for national security rather than “creating populist ideas that sound good but don’t solve real problems.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
