The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has criticised the government over what he describes as an unauthorised deployment of Ghanaian troops to Benin and Jamaica.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, December 17, Rev. Fordjour expressed concern and outrage over the decision, arguing that the deployments were carried out without prior parliamentary approval, in breach of established protocols and principles of transparency and accountability.
According to him, Parliament was neither informed nor consulted before the troops were dispatched, a situation he said undermines the authority of the House and Ghana’s democratic, multi-party governance system.
Rev. Fordjour is therefore demanding explanations from the Minister of Defence and relevant state agencies, including details on the legal and operational frameworks governing the deployments. He also wants clarity on the number of troops involved, the duration of their stay in the two countries, and the total cost of the operations to the state.
He cited a recent helicopter procurement as an example where Parliament was duly consulted, stressing that similar standards of accountability should apply to international military deployments.
The Ranking Member warned that failure to provide full disclosure on the matter would deepen concerns about transparency in the management of national security affairs and called on the government to respect Parliament’s oversight role.
