The Minister of Defense and Member of parliament for Bimbila, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul has on Wednesday, 12th April, 2023 commissioned a six (6) accommodation blocks of 5 units each for young officers of the 155 Armoured Regiment at Damongo, the savannah regional capital.
In a welcome address, the commanding officer for the 155 Armoured regiment, Lt. col. Hoffman Philemon explained that, the 155 Armoured regiment forms a core part of the Ghana Army’s expand drive in response to the changing security dynamics particularly within the Northern sector of the country.
He further explained that, the regiment is a kind that needs to deploy rapidly at short notices and for that matter, it’s sound logistics and administrative support can not be over emphasized hence the need to build the stamp into a fully fletched one as soon as possible.
He noted that, the nature of the ground from the onset seemed impossible to have established a camp of the 155 Armoured regiment stature, adding that, the beginning was never easy but the chief of the army staff and his leadership role and vision for the 155 Armoured regiment has come to a reality.
He also added that the regiment is happy with the work done so far but like Oliver Twist, asked for more projects and also looking forward for the commencement of the next phase of projects which includes an office complex, garage , repairs workshop, medical aid post among others.
He said, the realization of the new young officers accommodation came to light when the chief of army staff last visited the regiment to commission some 180 beds accommodation facility for them only to realize that there is the need to address the accommodation challenges of the young officers and therefore cut sod for the construction of the new accommodation blocks.
He commended the first commanding officer of the regiment and his team for committing their sweat to have brought the regiment to where it is today and expressed his gratitude to the defence minister for his continuous support towards similar projects for the Ghana army.
Commissioning the facilities, the Defence minister, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul reiterated government’s commitment to provide decent accommodation facilities for the Ghana Armed Forces and noted that, he is aware that the provision of decent accommodation for troops is vital for effective administration and operational efficiency, stating that his ministry took on the regeneration project in all garrisons upon his assumption of office in 2017.
The Minister revealed that today, the Ghana Armed forces has seen a remarkable improvement in accommodation across all garrisons which has significantly eased the pressure on accommodation and has however met that more accommodation projects will have to be embarked on to alleviate the shortages caused by the recent recruitment exercises in the Ghana Armed forces.
Hon. Nitiwul explained that, the 155 Armoured regiment was established as part of the function drive of the Ghana Armed Forces under the able leadership of the current chief of Army Staff with the deployment of five (5) officers and twenty six (26) soldiers and gradually increased exponentially with the strength of about 484 soldiers which came with it’s concomitant logistics and requirements including accommodation for officer soldiers.
He also noted that, the military leadership has over the years worked very hard to provide befitting accommodation for all ranks of the regiment which saw the earlier commissioning of some 180 bed accommodation facilities in the year 2022.
He also indicated that, the efforts of the military high command are significant to the government’s strategic plan to help ensure accommodation for all personnel knowing that, adequate and appropriate military accommodation plays an important function in the performance of the military personnel.
He remarked the relationship and support of all public and private entities in complimenting governments interventions to improve the living and working conditions of personnels of the Ghana Armed forces.
Mr. Dominic Nitiwul also stated that, apart from maintaining peace and security in the savannah region, the establishment of the 155 regiment is an opportunity to open the region for economic development and therefore appealed to the savannah regional Minister and other stakeholders in the region to continue to offer their maximum support to the regiment to safeguard the economic security gains that the presence of the regiment affords all residence in the savannah region.
The construction of the facilities was undertaken by JYK construction Ltd and executed within a period of 5 months from September, 2022 to February, 2023.
The Defense Minister was accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff and other senior officers of the Ghana Army Forces.
