With the demise of the former Minister of Defence, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, on August 6, 2025, it has been a month and some weeks as of the time of writing this piece.
The country has still not heard the President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama, giving a hint of any appointment with regard to a substantive Minister of Defense (MOD). Although security agencies such as the National Security, National Intelligence Bureau, Ghana Police, and Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) are executing their mandate, it is essential to have a substantive MOD as soon as possible for several reasons.
- The Defence sector is the top-most among every sector in any country hence requires continuity by replacing officials as soon as possible to fill in the gap. This ensures continuity in dealing with threats and being abreast with the changing dynamics of threats.
- The Ministry of Defence requires a substantive minister for direction and purpose. The Ministry of Defence is currently having an Acting MOD in the person of Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson. In an acting capacity, one is temporarily ‘holding the forth’ until someone is appointed permanently. Dr. Cassiel is also Ghana’s Finance Minister and at the same time Chairman of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development’s Board of Governors as at the time of this piece. This signals the quantum of workload he has. The Defence ministry is a very sensitive agency established to ensure Ghana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty through the formulation of essential policies and ideas aimed at combat readiness of the GAF.
- A substantive Minister of Defence provides leadership with regard to the security space. Defence as a concept in itself is a very essential pillar when it comes to national security. A substantive minister would ensure clear and swift decision-making. Decision makers should not forget that, the Defence Minister is part of Cabinet hence a very important figure when it comes to decision making that bothers on not only security but also human rights, justice, and peace.
- Reference to my article on January 10, 2025 regarding “Imminent changes within some key security agencies, state institutions, and its implications”, I stated that “… [t]he incoming Defense Minister … must have the experience and knowledge not only on internal security issues and apparatus of the country but also the professionalism to collaborate with defence counterparts in neighboring states”. It is not a doubt that the late Defence Minister was very intelligent and abreast with security issues including having a very good rapport with the Service Chiefs. The new Defense Minister should be someone who commands respect from the various heads of the security agencies, Service Chiefs, and should be abreast with current security dynamics not only in Ghana but also within the sub-region.
- Inter-agency coordination and collaboration is essential in the face of many threats we face. Leadership is paramount in this regard for the purposes of strategic policy planning and execution. The other most important aspect of coordination is in line with inter-state Defense collaborations in the sub-region and on the international front. A newly appointed Defence Minister will perform functions, which includes strengthening military ties with other states, sub-regional blocks and international institutions aimed at military collaboration, aid, joint training exercises, and capacity building. This gives the Armed Forces new dynamics to defence and security mechanisms. Effective collaboration also promotes coordination among the various arms of the Armed Forces. Lately, our men in uniform have come under severe criticism regarding their way of handling issues in the civilian space. When coordination is effective with state security agencies, it will result to an improved civil-military oversight. An appointed Minister of Defence will ensure an enhanced coordination between the President, various security agencies, service chiefs, and the civilian populace. What we have to know is that, any one acting in a capacity of Defence Minister may lack the authority and zeal to push for major defense agendas including the general welfare of the personnel’s in the sector.
What are some the threats in the country that warrants a substantive Minister of Defence?
Ghana faces rising threats such as terrorism & violent extremism close to our borders, illegal mining, communal clashes, inter-ethnic conflicts, chieftaincy conflicts causing internally and externally displaced persons.
Furthermore, youth unrest, youth radicalization, political vigilantism, high unemployment, illicit drugs usage, misinformation and disinformation, armed robbery, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, organized crime on the high sea and in-land, and cyber security threats all add to the threats. These are just some of the many threats that continue to test our security architecture, emergency preparedness and operational capacity.
A substantive minister can mobilize resources and lead responses effectively working closely with the Interior Minister and Service Chiefs. Others may argue that these are for the Interior Minister to focus on or see them as internal security matters hence does not necessarily call for the Defence Minister to be involved.
However, I am talking about the defense of the country in general (dealing with threats internal and external) and not one aspect of internal security. All these calls for the attention of a substantive Defence Minister, together with the Interior Minister to formulate ideas and address these pressing issues.
Let me just make a few points on what I consider essential areas to focus on regarding the threats the country faces. With regard to the terrorism & violent extremism, the situation in Burkina Faso and Mali poses challenges especially in the Northern part of Ghana looking at the inter-ethnic conflicts and proliferation of weapons.
These conflicts notably the Bawku conflict, which I have re-iterated before, could be a conduit for some armed and criminal elements to continue taking advantage. On illegal mining, there are calls for the central government to declare state-of-emergency to deal decisively with the menace. Instead, the government has rather opted for declaration of security zones.
Declaring a geographical area a security zone in itself entails a lot, I may share insights regarding that in another write-up. I do not intend to sound pessimistic but the fight against galamsey will be a lost cause if we do not implement the needful.
We have not seen anything yet, the real conflict has not started and if it does, we may not be able to address it. The conflicts we are currently grappling with centers on Chieftaincy and land related factors. The interior minister has attempted by setting up a committee to come up with a roadmap towards addressing the Gbenyiri conflict.
The Nkwanta conflict is also staring at us, this is just to name a few. Our approaches have been mostly direct prevention (curfews), which focuses on dealing with eminent threats without much attention to the structural approaches. Proliferation of weapons has been a challenge to not only security agencies but also the Commission in-charge of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
Do we have a way forward regarding the porous borders where these weapons come through? What is the state agency on weapons doing? How are we dealing with the politicization of conflicts? Have we identified stakeholders who profit from conflicts hence fund them?
The Council of State should call on the President to consider appointing a substantive Minister of Defence as a matter of urgency. The Council of State should advise the president to appoint someone who will command respect from the Defence sector due to its sensitive nature.
The Parliamentary select Committee on Defence and Interior should wade into this issue and call on the President to appoint someone. The Defence sector is an essential one, hence the need to have its Minister promptly.
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