US Military Deal Condemned By Military Veterans In UK, US

Some two veteran Ghanaian soldiers in the UK and US army have roundly condemned the Ghana-US military agreement which has been ratified by Parliament.

The two, who spoke on the on Joy FM's news programme, Ghana connect on Friday, are convinced the agreement is not in the best interest of the country.

Robert Lartey, who served in the UK army convinced the operation of the US per the terms of the agreement constitute establishing a military base in Ghana.

Shedding light on his point, Mr. Lartey explained a military base as “a facility owned and operated by the military or one of its branches thus shelters their equipment and personnel…”

He stressed that the government of Ghana should be very critical on what it is surrendering to the US.

“We should be very particular about what we are giving up,” he said.

He also referenced a speech which according to him, the first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah made. “Proposals of aid need to be examined with care, most of all military help because it can place us in the hands of foreign powers and make them arbiters of our fate,” he said, quoting Dr. Nkrumah.

His counterpart from the US also held similar views.

Tetteh Effon said based on his experience serving in the US army what is being done by the US comes close to establishing a military base.

He also raised concerns on the basis on which the agreement was negotiated. “Are we negotiating based on our policy or we are just following America,” he quizzed.

The agreement was ratified by Parliament Friday after heated exchanges from Majority and Minority members of the House.

The minority members eventually staged a walkout from the House leaving the majority to take the decision.