The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) has held a graduation ceremony for 66 Senior Command and Staff Officers from 12 African countries.

Forty two of the graduates are from Ghana, while six are from Nigeria, four each from Sierra Leone and Rwanda, two from the Ivory Coast and Liberia, while one each from Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania, Malawi and the Zambia.

Of the 42 Senior officers from Ghana, 39 are Commissioned Officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force, while two are from the Narcotics Control Board, and a lady Officer from the Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service.

The GAFCSC was established in 1963 with the mandate to train officers of the Ghana Armed Forces and allied officers of Africa in Command and staff responsibilities.

Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amisssah-Arthur, the Vice President, was the Special Guest of Honour at the graduation.

Air Vice Marshal Issifu Sakib Kadri, GAFCSC Commandant, in his report said the strong foreign participation in the College’s Course was a manifestation of the solid foundation and hard work done by past Commandants of the College, thus making the GAFCSC an international centre of excellence.

“GAFCSC today is one of the highly patronized military colleges on the African Continent,” he said.

He said the College’s curriculum currently comprises three components; the Core, Curriculum Enrichment and Academic Programmes.

He explained that under the core programme, emphasis is placed on traditional military or defence and security studies, adding that, emphasis is also placed on studies on Leadership, Command and Staff duties, leading to the award of Passed Staff College (psc) certificates.

The Commandant said during the 2013/2014 period, the College successfully ran modules in Exclusive Economic Zone Management, Defence Management, Conflict and Crisis Management, Combined and Joint African Exercise and Integrated Peace Support Operations.

He said in collaboration with the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy of the University of Ghana (UG) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), the College runs Master of Arts (MA) Degrees in International Affairs and Diplomacy, MA Governance and Leadership, Post Graduate Diploma in Defence and Conflict Studies and Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration.

Air Vice Marshal Kadri said apart from the UG and GIMPA, the College has over the years collaborated with the Cranfield and Bradford Universities in the United Kingdom in improving its modules to fit into the academic transformation.

He announced that the College had successfully renewed its institutional accreditation as a tertiary institution for the next five years.

He said the College had designed its own Master’s Course for programme accreditation from the National Accreditation Board and is poised to roll out in September, its own flagship post graduate programme, of Master of Science Degree in Defence and International Politics, which would be mentored by GIMPA until the College attains a full university status.

He said plans were under way for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to start a Master of Science in Logistics, and MSc in Procurement and Supply Chain Management in a similar manner.

The Commandant said with the support of the GETFUND, the College has embarked on a massive infrastructural expansion such as the construction of a new ultramodern complex with lecture rooms, offices and an auditorium all with audio-visual aids, needed to run the envisaged programmes, have been completed.

“A 54 bedroom student accommodation also funded by the Fund is currently under construction, though the project has temporarily stalled, due to delays in the release of funds,” he stated.

The Commandant commended CDH Financial Holdings for donating GHc 150,000 to the College for the refurbishment of its internet connectivity and the provision of a new fibre optic cable network.

He also appealed to corporate Ghana to emulate the CDH Financial Holdings and lauded the British Government for its support to the College over the past years.

Air Vice Marshal Kadri also acknowledged the enormous role played by Colonel (Dr) Emmanuel Kotia, a visiting lecturer for his sacrifices to the College.

To the graduates, the Commandant said: “I task you to be good ambassadors and torch bearers of your alma mater to reflect the College’s Motto: ‘Alite Flam am’- Keep the flame burning”.

The College awarded Certificates of Appreciation to CDH Financial Holdings and Col (Dr) Kotia.

Major M. K. Mfum of the Ghana Army received the Honour Graduate Award.