In the wake of the controversial military agreement between Ghana and the United States on defense cooperation, the US Ambassador to Ghana Robert Jackson has stated that the deal is not in any way an invasion of the country and the one year $20 million investment in the Ghanaian military will yield a significant return.
Speaking to local news platform Joy News, the US Ambassador stated, “I think 20 million dollars being invested in the Ghanaian Armed Forces in one year is a pretty significant return.” In response to the United States having unrestricted access to the country as part of the deal, he said: “It’s not unrestricted access, it’s only access to the bases that Ghana makes available to the United States for the exercises.” He further on clarified that the United States does not get to choose the bases for the exercise but the Ghana government.
This “military agreement” was not received well by the Ghanaian public especially after years of denial by both Ghana and the U.S. government that there were no plans to set up a base in the country.
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GHANA-US MILITARY AGREEMENT: $20m is enough benefit for Ghana; Says US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson.#JoyNews pic.twitter.com/K8vMsrsQwC
— #JoyNews (@JOYNEWSONTV) March 22, 2018