UK, US cadets call on Defence Minister
Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, Defence Minister, on Tuesday said the establishment of cadet corps in schools had promoted social integration, cohesion and discipline among students.
He said cadet corps in schools also served as essential part of efforts aimed at catering for the total learning experience of students.
Mr Woyongo said: “It will interest you to note that the government, realizing how important and special the cadet corps is to the developmental agenda of the country, has set up a coordinating desk at the Ministry of Youth and Sports to oversee the day to day administration of the cadet corps.
“The government, therefore, places high priority on the nurturing of our human capital and the grooming of a new generation of leaders and citizens,” he said.
Mr Woyongo said this in Accra when he received a delegation of International Cadet Corps from the United Kingdom and United States of America on behalf of Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Authur.
The delegation is in the country for a two week exchange programme.
Mr Woyongo said cadet corps, an offshoot of military and other security agencies in Ghana, had also enhanced the relationship between civilian population and military, which was an impetus for good neigbourliness.
He said institutions such as the 37 Military Hospital and interventions such as the provision of disaster relief to citizens during floods had also helped to boost military-civilian relations, adding that more efforts were being made to improve upon such relations.
He commended the two delegations from the UK and USA and their Ghanaian counterparts for the exchange programmes that would allow them to undertake numerous activities and community involvement projects.
“I wish to take the opportunity to commend Ghana National Cadet Corps on its efforts to forge strong partnerships with its key stakeholders,” he said.
Mr Woyongo said these efforts had enlarged the possibilities and opportunities for members to acquire leadership skills, imbibe sound values and develop a sense of belongingness and loyalty to the cadet corps and the nation.
Colonel Kenneth W. Parris, National Inspector General, United States Airforce Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol, who led the USA cadet team, said the US military also performed similar functions just as its Ghanaian counterparts.
He said in the USA, the military was seen as “Peoples’ Army” and that it continued to render assistance in disaster situations, especially in hurricanes.
He said the exchange programme had helped to build relationships and understanding among the three countries.
Squadron Leader Stuart McNeill of the UK Royal Airforce Cadet, said relations between military and civilians in the UK were very cordial as the former existed to assist citizens whenever the need arose.
Ghana’s cadet corps started at the Ghana Secondary Technical School in 1954 at Takoradi and had now grown to a national status.
There are about 223 cadet corps in all the 10 regions of the country comprising the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Fire Service and Customs Divsion of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Ghana is the only African member of the International Air and Sea Cadet Exchange Association. By this, cadets in Ghana are granted the opportunity to do exchange programmes in the UK and USA and vice versa.
Source: GNA