Rear Admiral Issah Yakubu
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Issah Yakubu, has said he is poised in maintaining a modern robust naval force capable of defending Ghana against seaborne threats and ensuring the safety and security of our maritime domain.
He said in collaboration with other agencies, they would also maintain the time-tested traditions of the Ghana Navy.
He was speaking during this year’s annual Chief of Naval Staff conference at Burma Camp yesterday.
The conference was dubbed, “Adopting resourceful and innovative measures to transform the Ghana Navy into a modern and robust naval force.”
Addressing Flag Officers Commanding and Principal Staff Officers of the Ghana Navy, he said building a modern navy requires a clear conceptualisation of the realities of the threats we face, developments in our maritime domain and tight alignment with the government’s development agenda.
“We as strategic planners of the defence of our maritime domain must have a clear-eyed view of both the threats facing the country and the tools necessary to defend its vital interests,” he said.
Rear Admiral Yakubu said, although there is a litany of criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea, piracy remains arguably the most visible symptom of the insecurity in the region.
“Last year, the Gulf of Guinea accounted for 95 per cent of all kidnappings at sea, with the actual and attempted attacks in the region also increasing by 34 per cent from 2019 figures to 59 to 79 in 2020 in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
The CNS maintained that the threat posed by non-traditional security challenges, including pandemics, piracy and armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, fuel and drug smuggling and the possible use by terrorists of our waters to further their operations, should prompt a thorough re-examination of the strategies, tactics and tools needed to keep our waters safe.
Using Technology For Operations
He emphasised that in order to achieve their goal of safe and secure waters, the Ghana Navy must focus on modernisation and interoperability and ensure adequate facilities and resources to support their ships and commands.
“We must also continue to explore the development of more Forward Operating Bases to reduce response times,” he said.
Adding his voice, the Chief Of Staff of the Ghana Navy Headquarters, Commodore Godwin Bessing, said the conference has over the years provided the opportunity for the CNS to interact with his Flag Officers Commanding and Principal Staff Officers to share ideas which serve as strategic headway for the Ghana Navy.
“The navy of today is constantly changing and is confronted with new challenges. It is therefore an opportune time to carefully identify and analyse and determine the discourse of action to transform our navy into a modern service in line with the vision of the CNS,” Commodore Bessing concluded.
(lindatneyah@gmail.com)
BY Linda Tenyah-Ayettey