A leading member of the Movement for Change, Solomon Owusu, has urged the Ghana Armed Forces not to regard themselves as being above public criticism.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day and monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, August 13, Owusu expressed disappointment over recent comments made by Colonel Retired Festus Aboagye regarding his reaction to last week’s helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of the Minister for Defence, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, and seven others.
“Don’t let the military think they are above criticism,” he stated.
According to Owusu, from a civilian perspective, the way the military handled the situation was completely wrong, although he is awaiting the final report before drawing full conclusions.
“The way and manner they handled this issue was totally wrong,” he stressed.
He further argued that the public has the right to assess the Armed Forces based on their performance during emergencies.
“The Ghanaian can only measure whether or not the Ghana Armed Forces have done well by their actions and inactions after the fact. The visuals we have seen and the whole manner in which the military responded do not give us encouragement,” he noted.
Reacting to claims that the army has only two active helicopters, he opined, “If those that are flying are only two, and one has crashed, it means that today, if we are attacked, our army will not be able to do anything; and so they are useless.”
Owusu stressed that military operations must be transparent and accountable to the public.
“The military must not assume that whatever they are doing, they are on an island and not responsible to us. They have to be explaining matters to us,” he added.
AS/MA
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