Defense Minister, Dominic Nitiwul has debunked reports that the Government of Ghana has ‘secretly’ signed an agreement with the Government of the United States of America for the latter to establish a military base in Ghana.
According to the Minister, a widely circulated report that claimed that Cabinet has approved an agreement granting unrestricted access to a host of Ghanaian facilities and wide-ranging tax exemptions to the United States Military is misleading.
The report stated that the agreement will permit the U.S. Military to use Ghana as a base for staging and deploying forces.
Despite the unrestricted access and tax exemptions, Ghana has also agreed to bear the cost and take primary responsibility for securing the U.S. facilities in Ghana.
The documents show that negotiation with the U.S. has been ongoing at least for the past 8 months, however, Cabinet approved the deal on Thursday, March 8, 2018.
Reacting to this report on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Tuesday, Dominic Nitiwul said there is no existing agreement allowing Americans to do that.
“We have not signed any agreement yet, we are yet to agree, it is step by step…,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Ghana has, in a statement, also denied the reports, saying “the United States has not requested nor does it plan to establish a military base or bases in Ghana”.
The statement says a current Status of Forces Agreement (SFA) which is about 20 years old does not cover the current range and volume of bilateral exercises and assistance.
Read the United States Embassy in Ghana’s statement below:
Nitiwul, US Embassy deny American Military base story
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