Editorial: Yes, The Military Should Not Perform Private Guard Duties

The Minister for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, has according to citinewsroom.com report, cautioned the Ghana Armed Forces against providing security services to individuals not authorised by law, stressing that disciplinary action will be taken against any personnel who flout this directive.

During a working visit to the Eastern Naval Command, under the One Garrison in Tema on Thursday, July 17, 2025 Dr Edward Omane Boamah underscored the importance of upholding strict professional standards within the military.

“We expect a very high degree of discipline and professionalism from the Ghana Armed Forces and we cannot compromise. This discipline also means not providing guard duties for individuals who are not permitted,” the website quoted the Minister for Defence as saying.

The Minister, the story continued, also warned that both those who assign such unauthorised duties and those who carry them out would face sanctions. “Those who provide the guard duties will be dealt with. Those who deployed them to provide the guard duties will also be dealt with,” he added.

The Defence Minister also reiterated the government’s commitment to adequately resource the military, highlighting a $1 billion allocation aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Ghana Armed Forces.“We are confident that with your expertise, your dedication and the training that you have gone through and President Mahama’s vision of equipping the Ghana Armed Forces up to $1 billion, we will be able to keep our nation safe,” he affirmed.

It is an undisputable fact that military personnel belong to the barracks. Indeed, in UK, France, USA and other developed countries, hardly will one see a military man in uniform roaming the streets. But regrettably, the opposite is the case in Ghana, where soldiers in uniform are seen in downtown, when as matter of fact they are not performing any official duties.

What has even exacerbated the situation now is the use of the military for private guard duties. This obvious breach of the ethical code became more manifest between 2021 and 2023. Individuals who had invaded our forest reserves and doing illegal mining managed to secure the services of the military to protect them in the bush.

In fact, in one of the forest reserves in the Ashanti Region, the military men guarding one of such illegal mining concessions nearly clashed with the civilian police. When the story was made public by Erastus Asare Donkor, no government official at the time came out to confirm sending the military to protect the illegal miners.

There was also no official investigation into the case. The military men stayed in that forest for a long time before they were called to their respective barracks. Indeed, on the day they nearly clashed with the police, as we earlier referenced, some of these military personnel were seen making calls to their bosses. This clearly shows that they were sent to the forests by their commanders who should have known better.

The Chronicle was, therefore, happy when the current Defence Minister gave order that no military personnel should perform guard duties for private individuals, which he has reiterated when he visited the Navy in Tema.

As we have already indicated, military personnel belong to the barracks – they should only be called to perform certain duties when the police are overwhelmed. It is the hope of The Chronicle that the defence Minister will keep his words and will not bow to any pressure to deploy the military for any private guard duties.

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