I don’t know if Al-Qaeda members are in Ghana – Akufo-Addo replies New York Times reporter

President Akufo-Addo says he is unaware if there are terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda in Ghana.

Responding to a question by a New York Times reporter during a joint press conference with visiting Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris at the Jubilee House on Monday, President Akufo-Addo said even though there is the possibility of terrorist cells in Ghana, he has no information of members of Al-Qaeda in Ghana.

“The presence of Al-Qaeda in Ghana? I don't know. Formally, we don't have any information to that effect. It may well be that there are cells and others already in the country, but those are matters that the security agencies are very much on top of, and we are hoping that there will be no Al-Qaeda presence in Ghana.”

He added that Ghana wants to handle its own security issues without foreign help.

“We want to be in a position to resolve our own security problems ourselves as much as possible, without the intervention of foreign troops,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has promised that the US will intervene on Ghana's behalf with the Paris Club as the country seeks debt forgiveness as part of the International Monetary Fund's balance of payment support.

According to Mrs Harris, the US will help Ghana with all the support it needs to ensure that it scales through its current economic crisis.

“We welcome Ghana's commitment to reform its economy for sustainable and inclusive growth. We support Ghana's engagement with the IMF, and we will continue to push all bilateral creditors to provide meaningful debt reduction for countries that need it.”

-Citi Newsroom