?ADANSI?? Newspaper can authoritatively say that tension is gradually brewing in the Ghana Armed Force which is the most regimented and disciplined Security Service in the country as it has been overwhelmed with too many cases of massive corruption at its top hierarchy.
The top guns are involved in swindling scandals, defrauding their junior counterparts of their hard earned allowances. This situation, this paper has gathered is developing anger at the junior front in the force, who are bitterly aggrieved with the manner in which their seniors have treated them since 2010.
Reliable information gathered from the Ghana Armed Forces is that in 2010, 850 soldiers were deployed on a peace keeping mission, in 2011 there were 450 soldiers and in 2012, 512 were dispatched to Lebanon and Congo.
But the allowances due them till date have not been paid, as allegations are that Senior Officers in charge sat on the monies refusing to part with them to settle the aggrieved soldiers.
The development if not addressed will spark fire in the country which could lead to mayhem.
Among the many scandals is the recent $94,000 worth of electrical appliances ordered in 2011 when a unit (MONUSCO GHANBATT 4) in the army was on a UN peace-keeping mission in D.R Congo.
This has not been the first time such incident of swindling has occurred in the Army. UNIFILL GHANBATT 73 also had its share of the swindle cake in 2010 when the same issue cropped up in the Lebanon.
As a normal routine in the army, while on peace keeping mission abroad, many if not all soldiers use their salary to purchase electrical appliances from deep freezers, pressing irons, microwaves, washing machines, Air conditioners and LCD TVs at relatively low prices.
For the past five years however, ?ADANSI?? has established that the tables have turned, appliances ordered takes a lifetime to arrive, and if they eventually arrived the supposedly brand new machines are faulty or do not work at all.
The unfortunate situation has made concerned soldiers suffer in pool of nightmares as they helplessly watch the fruit of their toil flush down the drain.
The whole unfortunate situation occurred in November 2011, when MONUCO GHANBATT 4 under the command of LT. COL. Arthur and Major Amenugor ordered recruits to buy $94,000 worth of electrical appliances from Rosimens Company Limited.
The goods which were anticipated to arrive latest by March 2012 seem to be taking eternity to arrive, has aggravated the fury of about 512 concerned soldiers as their patience has grown pale in the long wait.
When the agitated peace-keepers visited the branch of the company (Rosimens Limited) in Accra, they were dumbfounded as they realised that the headquarters of the company was not offshore as they were made to believe earlier. This left them with no option but to suspect a glaring chicanery at play.
When this paper visited the ?Company? at the centre of this controversy on the Spintex Road, a suburb of Accra, it was noted that the supposed Ghana Branch of the company was just a 19 by 7 feet old container which contained a handful of second-hand appliances ? two fridges, two cathode Ray tube (CRT) TVs, a microwave, 2 vacuum cleaners, about 5 music players and a couple of rusty rickety appliances.
Questions are being asked as to which offshore bank account was their monies paid into, and recommended this company to the Ghana Armed Forces and What due diligence was conducted by the hierarchy of the Ghana Army before doing business with Rosimens Limited?
Speaking to the Care-taker of the ?Company? Mr. Osei, he disclosed that his sister Mrs. Rosemond Minta enthrusted the company into his care as she left for Turkey in her bid to purchase the goods ordered by MONUSCO GHANBATT 4.
According to Mr. Osei his sister left early 2012 and very little has been heard about her. When asked if some officers from the Ghana Armed Forces have called on him for enquiries, the answer was a simple NO! But he hasten to add that one Lt. Gen. Tagoe in Burma Camp, Accra knows the inside out of the on-going canker, since he has personal relation with his sister, Rosemond Minta. About his knowledge of the amount of money involved in the transaction, he categorically denied any knowledge of it but when pressed further, he opined that the suspected amount was in the neighbourhood of $90,000.
All attempts top reach Lt. Gen. Tagoe have proved futile as he would not answer his calls.
Surprisingly officers at the Directorate of the Armed Forces Peace-keeping operations (DAKOPT) have lost their shine at the department. Their reluctance and chronic inability to allay the plights of their subjects raises eyebrows in the Army.
It remains in the realms of speculations that if they (DAKOPT) pursue the issue diligently, they will end up unearthing the malice of most of their comrades at the top. Unfortunately this whole unfolding saga is happening at the blind side of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Vice Admiral Mathew Quashie.
The whole incident still remains vague as it is hard to conclude whether these individuals were really swindled or some information is being swept under the carpet.
A MONUSCO GHANBATT 4 CLIP SLIP in possession of this paper indicates that one of the affected victims purchased Items like Rice Cooker ?luxury with ciode number ROS046 was purchased at $55.00, Digital Microwave 23 Litres with GR bought at $115,00, Tent ? 2 People was bought at $35, Folding bed bought at $30 and Freshtech Deep Freezer-XL-Double DOBC/BD-536G was also bought at $355,00 making the total round up to $5205.00 but hasn?t yet taken delivery of the goods.
Attempts to contact the officials involved proved futile. But ?ADANSI?? will keep readers abreast with any new development to the issue.
