The Ghana Armed Forces has welcomed Parliament’s approval of the purchase of five new aircraft for the Airforce. There were heated exchanges on the floor of the House prior to the approval with the Minority MPs abstaining from voting on one of them. They cited an inflated price as reason for their abstention. Outside of Parliament, many have also questioned whether the purchase of the aircraft at a cost of about 300 million dollars is a national priority. But the Director of Public Affairs for the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Mbawine Atintande says the public must appreciate the need to equip the military. In an interview with Joy FM Morning Show, Col Atintande said security is paramount in the country's development and should be of utmost priority. “Let Ghanaians decide on their priorities. Whether for example they would want to have a hospital or they want to live to have a hospital. Because if there is a crisis here which the soldiers can stem and they don’t have the means to stem then the hospitals will all die,” he stated. “So the issue of priority is very important for us. And security is very prime. If you can’t have security there is no point,” he argued. He said without security and stability of the country it will be useless to have a hospital, schools or any other infrastructure which are equally important. Source: Joy News/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana