The Minority in Parliament has criticised the government over the deployment of Ghanaian soldiers to Jamaica for post-hurricane reconstruction and the alleged dispatch of troops to Benin following a recent coup attempt, describing the actions as misplaced and procedurally flawed.
According to the Minority, the troops, drawn from the 48th Engineering Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, were deployed without prior parliamentary approval, raising concerns about transparency, accountability and the use of public funds.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Wednesday, December 17, the Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, said while the Minority supports Ghana’s tradition of assisting friendly nations, the government failed to comply with constitutional requirements governing the deployment of troops abroad.
Rev. Fordjour said Parliament was taken by surprise by reports of Ghanaian soldiers being sent to Benin and later to Jamaica on humanitarian and reconstruction missions, without any formal briefing or request for approval.
“We woke up to the news of Ghana sending troops to Benin, and these undertakings ought to have come to the attention of Parliament for prior approval,” he stated. “Today, we have also woken up to the news of the government sending military troops to Jamaica.”
He stressed that parliamentary consultation was necessary to allow lawmakers to scrutinise the duration, legal framework and financial implications of the deployments.
“We do not have any problem with the principle of assisting these countries. However, the due process of consulting Parliament was not followed to allow us interrogate the modalities, the framework, the cost to the state and how long these decisions will persist,” he added.
The Ranking Member questioned why Parliament was consulted for military procurement such as helicopters, but bypassed when it came to deploying troops abroad, insisting that similar scrutiny should apply.
Rev. Fordjour further demanded clarity on the number of troops deployed to Benin, the protocols governing the operation, its expected duration and the total cost to the state.
He warned that the Minority would not allow public funds to be expended without due process and accountability, and has therefore called on the Minister for Defence and relevant state agencies to provide immediate explanations.
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