Ghana-US 98, 2015 Army Agreements To Be Ratified

The Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid has disclosed government’s intention to recall parliament to ratify the 1998 and 2015 defence cooperation agreement the country signed with the US.

According to him, the 1998 and 2015 agreements were signed without recourse to parliament, and per the Gitmo 2 ruling by the Supreme Court, the agreements needs to be taken to parliament for approval.

“We intend to cure that defect by taking the 1998 and 2015 agreements to parliament for them to give us ratification so that we will continue to operate under these current arrangement that we have until we completed the processes for triggering the 2018 agreement,” he stressed.

Parliament last Friday approved the Ghana-US Military cooperation agreement, which seeks to give United States access into the country to camp its military forces.

The agreement which has sparked widespread controversy, was approved without the Minority in Parliament who opposed to it.

According to Mustapha Hamid, the agreement won’t function until some steps has been taken.

He said there must be an exchange of a ‘note verbal’ between Ghana and the United States in order to trigger the agreement and bring to effect.

“The two countries has to exchange what the diplomats call note verbal. It is these note verbal that will give effects to the agreement. Even beyond the note verbal the two countries also have to set up implementation committees that will guide the operation and implementation of this agreement.”

Currently, arrangement guiding the US-Ghana military relations is the 2015 agreement.

Mustapha Hamid indicated “that is what we will continue to operate until we have finished processes for triggering the 2018 agreement.”

He further stated that “We are going to take the 1998 and 2015 agreements to parliament immediately to get them give us ratifications and then we can continue to operate those ones legally whiles we wait for the completion of the process that will trigger into effect the 2018 agreement.”

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum/thePublisheronline