The recent inspection tour by the Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon Kwami Governs Agbodza, has brought an important issue into the national conversation, which is whether Ghana should make greater use of the abundant expertise and discipline of its Armed Forces in the construction and maintenance of critical public infrastructure such as roads.
During his inspection of some ongoing road projects, the Minister profusely praised the Ghana Armed Forces Engineer Regiment for the speed and quality of work being undertaken on the expansion of the Accra-Kumasi highway while threatening to terminate others’. Indeed, his commendation is significant because it highlights something that Ghanaians have witnessed repeatedly; when properly resourced and given a clear additional mandate, the military can deliver public works with unparallel commitment.
The Minister’s contrasting remarks about the contractor working on the Kpone-Dawhenya-Aflao road were even more revealing. The contractor’s pace, as fast as the tortoise, underscores the frustration that has become all too familiar to Ghanaians, the seemingly endless delays associated with some public infrastructure projects.
It is against this background that government should seriously consider making its Armed Forces, particularly its Engineering Regiment, one of its most reliable state agencies for the execution of selected strategic construction projects. I am not arguing for the military to take over the construction industry. No! Rather, it is an argument for government to recognise and strategically deploy an existing national entity.
The Ghana Armed Forces has never been confined to the battlefield. Over the years, the military has been called upon to perform a variety of national duties, including disaster management, emergency response, peacekeeping, infrastructure development and other tasks in support of civil authorities. I am reminded of the PNDC era, when the late Head of State, Jerry John Rawlings (may his soul rest in peace), deployed the Armed Forces to undertake road construction and other development works in difficult and remote areas, including parts of the Afram Plains and the Western Region.
For communities that had long been neglected because of difficult terrain and inadequate infrastructure, the arrival of military engineering personnel was not merely about roads. It was about opening communities, facilitating movement, connecting farmers to markets and bringing the presence of the state closer to the people.
Those interventions left an enduring impression on many of the beneficiaries. Indeed, the political loyalty subsequently associated with some of these areas, particularly the Afram Plains and parts of the Western Region, particularly Sewhi, is sometimes attributed by residents and political observers to the development impact of that period. Whether or not one agrees with that political interpretation, there is an important lesson here: infrastructure can transform the relationship between citizens and the state.
My own appreciation of this role of the military dates back many years. When I appeared for an admission interview at the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 1996, one of the questions I was asked was how civil-military relations could be improved. ‘The military’s contribution to national development in the road sector as is the case about the Afraim Plains and Sewhi areas needs to be sustained as one of the most effective ways of strengthening that relationship,’ I responded.
A military that is seen only in terms of weapons, uniforms and combat operations can easily appear distant from the population it exists to protect. But a military that constructs roads, rescues flood victims, builds bridges, provides engineering assistance and responds to national emergencies becomes part of the everyday development story of the people.
This is particularly important in a democracy, where the Armed Forces must remain firmly under civilian authority while at the same time maintaining the confidence and respect of the population. Military involvement in carefully selected development projects should therefore not be viewed as militarising civilian life.
One of the greatest advantages of military engineering is the culture of discipline and supervision that characterises military institutions. The military operates within a clearly defined chain of command. This culture has implications beyond military operations. The same principle is evident in military schools, which are becoming civilian preferences.
The performances of students in military schools across the country have demonstrated the value of structured supervision, discipline and accountability. A road project is not simply about having money available. It requires planning, supervision, technical competence, equipment, accountability and the determination to complete the assignment on schedule. Where these are absent, even a well-funded project can become another abandoned monument.
Ghana’s problem is not necessarily a shortage of contractors. The greater problem is the inconsistent delivery by some contractors. Some projects move at a reasonable pace while others remain under construction for years. In some instances, contractors mobilise to site, commence work and then virtually disappear like salt in oyster palm nut soup. In other cases, projects become casualties of financing difficulties, variations, contractual disputes or changes in government.
There is also a particularly strong troubling perception that some contractors deliberately slow down projects because they anticipate a change of government. A contractor who believes that a new political administration may cancel or renegotiate a project will not be in haste to meet deadline. The government must therefore find mechanisms that protect national infrastructure projects from political and commercial uncertainties. This is where a strong state construction capability, the military, could make a difference.
However, it would be unrealistic to expect the Engineering Regiment to undertake major highway projects with inadequate resources. If the government wants its armed Forces to become a more serious construction partner, it must invest in it. The Engineering Regiment will require modern construction equipment required for modern road construction; we saw some new-looking machines being used by the military on the TV recently. In other words, the Engineering Regiment must be expanded both in personnel and capability.
Such investment should not be regarded merely as expenditure on the military. It would be investment in a national engineering and emergency-response capability that could be deployed whenever the country faces a major infrastructure or disaster challenge. We recently witnessed another example of what the military can do during emergencies.
During the devastating flooding in parts of Accra, personnel from the military worked alongside the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO-originally known as MOBISQUAD and led by Commodore Stev Obimpeh, Rtd) in efforts to rescue people and protect lives and property at the peril of their lives. The leadership of NADMO by a retired military officer, Major Joseph Bikanyi Kuyon (PhD), further demonstrated the value of military experience in disaster management.
The lesson is clear; when national emergencies occur, government does not have the luxury of waiting for bureaucratic processes to unfold slowly. It needs institutions that can mobilise quickly, organise effectively and act decisively. The Armed Forces has demonstrated that capacity repeatedly. Government should therefore consider establishing a stronger framework under which the Engineer Regiment could undertake selected high-value public projects.
This could include strategically important roads, bridges, flood-control infrastructure, emergency reconstruction and projects in remote communities where commercial contractors may be reluctant to work. There is caveat; there must, however, be transparency. Military involvement should not become a means of circumventing procurement laws or weakening accountability.
Appropriate procurement, auditing, engineering standards and parliamentary oversight must continue to apply. The objective should be performance, which cannot be in doubt. Indeed, the presence of a credible military construction capability could even improve competition within the private construction industry.
The Roads and Highways Minister’s praise of the Engineer Regiment should therefore be seen as more than a compliment to the Armed Forces and its veterans. It should stimulate a national conversation about how Ghana delivers public infrastructure. The question should no longer be whether soldiers should build roads, but where can the unique discipline, technical capacity and rapid mobilisation of the Armed Forces add the greatest value to national development?
Ghana does not need to abandon its private construction sector. On the contrary, competent and trustworthy contractors should continue to receive opportunities to build the nation’s infrastructure. But where some contractors tactically snail-pace projects, government should have a dependable alternative. The Ghana Armed Forces Engineer Regiment must become that obvious choice.
From the Afram Plains of the past to the Accra-Kumasi big-push of today, and from flood rescue operations to future infrastructure projects, the military has clearly demonstrated that its role in national development can extend far beyond defence. Perhaps it is time for Ghana to harness that capacity more deliberately. The military may have surely been created to defend the nation, but in times of peace, its engineers can also help build it.
BY Ex WOI Bright Segbefia (Dip, BA, MA, MPhil, LLB),
PRO, Veterans Administration, Ghana.
re.shuffle@yahoo.com
