The establishment of a Defence Industries Holding Company which was inaugurated yesterday by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is a great impetus towards our industrialisation drive.
With a Ghana Integrated and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) and bountiful iron ore deposits and a bauxite company in place, the decision could not have been placed.
As a major bastion against the depletion of our foreign exchange, it is a venture all citizens should congratulate the originators for.
We have observed the multiplicity of industries under the holding company and are elated that all things being equal, another step towards ensuring our self-sufficiency in the production of our critical needs has been taken.
In a few years from now, when the various departments of the holding company are in full flight, the dividends from the investments will be realised.
We are also excited that Ghana, by the development, has joined the comity of independent nations which are producing important logistics for their security services.
The security every sovereign nation needs will be lost when such countries are not self-sufficient in the production of basic military materiel and has to rely on foreigners for that matter.
We have reached a stage in our history where we should be able to produce the necessities of our security agencies.
Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria has a defence industry entity which produces critical logistics for the operation of the country’s large military. A few months ago, the country took another step towards producing military hardware.
Considering that we and Nigeria maintain a cordial relationship, having been colonial stable mates, we think that there a lot of things we can learn from that country in terms of the maintenance of a defence industry establishment.
It does not make economic sense when we depend on the importation of footwear, a basic requirement, for our security services when these can be produced locally.
The Ghana Armed Forces, the Police, the Prison Service and the Ghana Immigration Service, all need boots and other footwear and to think that these constitute another source of the depletion of our scarce foreign exchange is worrying.
The Vice President’s reference to a previous attempt at establishing a defence industry establishment was instructive. It has not met the expectations for which it was established.
That we have taken another move with a fresh template suggests that lessons have been learnt from the previous venture.
The current venture, unlike the previous one, has many appendages which will help our TVET project.
We can pat each other on the back for the great leap that we have taken, courtesy to our great political leadership which has made it all possible.
This one must succeed because of the bountiful leverages contained therein.