Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that Ghana will soon receive an additional 40 West African deportees from the United States.
Speaking in an interview on Citi TV, Mr Ablakwa explained that the returnees will be vetted before arrival.
“I can reveal to you that we’re expecting another 40 in the next few days. We vet them before they come. We didn’t agree to this because we support President Trump’s immigration policies. We’re not doing the US a favour. We’re doing our fellow Africans a favour; we’re offering them refuge, hope, and we want them to come back home and be comfortable,” he said.
His remarks follow criticism from the Minority, which recently accused government of bypassing parliamentary approval when it accepted 14 deportees earlier this month.
Government has since clarified that the arrangement is covered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US that does not require parliamentary ratification.
Mr Ablakwa emphasised that the decision is based solely on humanitarian grounds.
“We solidarised with them when we saw those images, the arrests, the violation of their rights, and their being detained against their will. It’s as if nobody wants to take them. It was purely on a humanitarian basis; we did not take any financial benefits. We’re doing this because we want to continue to position Ghana as the Mecca for Africans,” he explained.
Source: Adomonline
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