Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has requested for the establishment of a military base to take care of any unpleasant situations in the region.
He said: “what we have in Wa needs to be expanded and we are willing and prepared to facilitate its expansion. We needed a more befitting military base to take care of all unpleasant situations in the regionâ€, he said.
Dr Bin Salih made the request, when Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, the new Chief of Army Staff paid a courtesy call on him at his office.
Major General Oppong-Peprah was on a two-day working visit to the region to interact with the soldiers stationed in Wa to know of their operational challenges, appraise their responsibilities, and assess the administrative operations and logistics situation in the region.
The Regional Minister appealed to the Army Chief of Staff to use his good offices to ensure that “this our request becomes fruitfulâ€.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih told the Chief of the Army Staff that the region was generally peaceful and attributed it to the relationships among the security agencies, which enhanced the sharing of intelligence and collaboration of operations.
He said the threat of terrorism was the most challenging issue that confronts the region and appealed to the security agencies and the citizens not to be complacent about its occurrence, noting “we need to hold our guard and intensify our operations and we still need to be very, very vigilantâ€.
The government is willing to support the military with its logistical needs to confront and safeguard the country from the activities of terrorists and terrorism.
Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah said the information he got about the region indicated that terrorism activities was a bit remote but that there were other criminal activities such as armed robbery.
He cautioned that terrorism activities could always come up at any time and warned as well as urged the security agencies and the people to collaborate effectively to ensure that peace and security was compact to ward off terrorism penetrations.
He thanked the traditional authorities for the land provided the Military for the establishment of a barracks in Wa, saying the establishment of a military base in Wa has been on the drawing board for some time now.
“I think now, we have to move out of the drawing board and go to the field and implement it. It is my aim to get a barracks for the regionâ€.
He thanked the Regional Coordination Council (RCC) for the support it had been providing the troops and promised to build on the existing cordial relations between the military and RCC.
Source: GNA