Accra, Jan 28, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Friday appealed to the Military and other security agencies to conduct themselves professionally devoid of violence and acrimony during the general election in December this year.

He also advised them to become advocates of activities that would unite and educate the civilian public against misconduct and other forms of misbehavior before, during and after the elections.

Vice President Mahama made this appeal, when he addressed the annual West African Soldiers Social Activity (WASSA) of the Ghana Armed Forces in Accra.

WASSA is a socialization programme among the military to relax, enjoy together and to take stock of the past years and re-strategize for the current year.

It gives the Royal West African Frontier Force some respite from their exertions at the warfront and to renew their commitment and loyalty to their profession.

Vice President Mahama commended them for their efforts at keeping peace and venturing into farming, with particular mention of the Takoradi and Tamale Camps that won national farmers’ awards during the last programme in Agona Nsaba in the central Region, inspite of their numerous challenges.

He announced that government had contracted two companies to construct about 10,000 housing units for the Military and the Police in the coming years as a replacement to the aborted STX housing project.

The Vice President gave the assurance that government had embarked on a re-equipping project, where all the units would be provided with adequate equipment and logistics to enhance the performance of the Ghana Armed Forces.

He said under the re-equipping programme, government had provided more aircraft to the airforce, patrol boats to the Navy, while more equipment would be received before the end of this year.

Commodore Geoffrey Bilkro, Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces said their engagement in farming activities was their contribution towards achieving food sufficiency to further achieve the Millennium Development Goal aimed at eradicating hunger and poverty by 2015.

He commended government for the provision of ships for the Navy and some aircraft for the Airforce and hoped that most of the promises government made towards their welfare and development would be fulfilled to enhance their confidence levels to step up their performance.

Awards were given out to officers and men who excelled in their areas of operations, while selected ex-servicemen were also honoured for their contribution towards the growth and development of the forces.