Former President Jerry John Rawlings has said allowing U.S. troop to station in Ghana would be going overboard.
Tweeting on a new defence agreement between Ghana and the U.S. which, in the Minority’s view, gives the American military unfettered access to Ghanaian military installations, Mr Rawlings said: “Ghanaians may love Americans but not to the extent of living with foreign troops on such a scale”.
“Ghanaians have enough foreigners dominating their economic and social life. Adding foreign troops to the discomfort will be a bit too much.
“Ghanaians have felt stateless before in my life time. Let’s not go there again,” Mr Rawlings said.
Per the defence agreement, Ghana would, among others, provide “unimpeded access to and use of agreed facilities and areas to United State forces, United States contractors, and others as mutually agreed. Such agreed facilities and area: or portions thereof, provided by Ghana shall be designated as either for exclusive use by Unite States forces or to be jointly used by United States forces and Ghana. Ghana shall also provide access to and use of a runway that meets the requirements of United States forces”.
Mr Nitiwul has, however, denied the U.S. will be building a military base in Ghana.
The U.S. Embassy in Ghana has also denied same. In a statement, the Embassy said on Tuesday, 20 March 2018 that: “The United States Embassy wishes to underscore that the United States has not requested, nor does it plan to establish a military base or bases in Ghana.”
“The current Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana, is approximately 20 years old. It does not cover the current range and volume of bilateral exercises and assistance.
“This year, the United States of America is investing over $20million in training and equipment for the Ghanaian armed forces. Ghana is also once again preparing to train U.S Forces as it did in 2017”.
