President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to help maintain Ghana’s role as Africa’s beacon of peace.

He requested them to assist in ensuring that the 2024 General Election is held in a peaceful and tranquil setting.

The president, who is also the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, implored the troops to preserve the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people to ensure the survival of the fourth republic.

He was addressing at the GAF annual West African Soldiers Social Activity (WASSA), which concluded this year’s events today (December 23).

The WASSA is held each year to provide an informal setting for the GAF to socialise, as well as to allow the Command to interact with and appreciate the contributions of all ranks and civilian staff.

The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, and the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service, Kwame Asuah Takyi were also present.

The president assured the GAF of government’s commitment to sustain the programme of retooling the GAF to enable it to perform it duties effectively and efficiently.

“I assure you that my government will not relent its efforts to transform the GAF into a formidable force and enhance its capacity to contribute strongly towards the overall development of the nation,” President Akufo-Addo said.

He expressed his gratitude to international organisations and countries that helped the GAF in a variety of ways to boost infrastructure development, training, and equipment purchase.

He also praised the European Union for recently contributing specialised vehicles to the force in the battle against terrorism and transnational organised crime.

On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Seth Amoama indicated that GAF lived up to expectation although 2023 was one of the challenging years.

“All through the year, the GAF has offered its services to preserve stability and the internal security of the country and also worked assiduously to ensure that it provided its quota to the developmental effort of the country.

We have kept the flag of the nation flying high internationally through our sterling performance in peace support operations,” Vice Admiral Amoama said.