Pressure Mounts On Government To Submit Uranium Agreement To Parliament

The Minority in Parliament has requested the Government to submit to Parliament the full details and true nature of the agreement on the flow of the country's highly-enriched uranium back to China.

It said President Nana Akufo-Addo revealed during his address to the United Nations 72nd General Assembly on Thursday, September 21, 2017 that: “Three weeks ago, highly-enriched uranium was flown out of Ghana back to China, signalling the end of the removal of all such material from the country.”

“Our nuclear reactor has, subsequently, been converted to use low-enriched fuel for power generation. A world, free of nuclear weapons, must be in all our collective interest.”

The Minority made the request in a statement signed by Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament and Ranking Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.

It said: “Considering the recent Supreme Court decision in the GITMO 2 case when interpreting Article 75 of the Constitution of Ghana, it is clear that this arrangement which has been shrouded in utmost secrecy ought to have received Parliamentary ratification at the very least before handing over our highly-enriched uranium to the Chinese if that is the path we consider to be in our strategic national interest.”

The statement reminded the Government of its obligations to several other agreements yet to be ratified by Parliament, and that “the Minority shall be pursuing this very important development in the spirit of transparency and good governance consistent with the view taken by the apex court of the land.”

–