Ghana-US military pact should have gone through a referendum - Lecturer

A lecturer at the Kings University College Prof. Agyenim Boateng, says the agreement between Ghana and the United States government should have gone through a referendum.

He believes the agreement revolves around the sovereignty of Ghana hence his suggestion. According to him, just like the United Kingdom used a referendum to withdraw from the European Union (EU), Ghana could have emulated same to either accept the deal or reject it.

In a referendum on 23 June 2016, 51.9% of the participating UK electorate voted to leave the EU, out of a turnout of 72.2%. On 29 March 2017, the UK government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union.

The UK is thus due to leave the EU on 29 March 2019. In an interview with Kwame Tutu on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, the lecturer, who described President Akufo-Addo’s statement on the deal as insulting said, if it was in America, the ratification in Parliament would have been subjected to a ‘’roll call vote’’ so the public will know who voted for what.

‘’This is a big issue because it revolves around sovereignty. It wouldn’t have been bad should it have gone through a referendum. And so if you addressed the nation and insult people and claim you were open more than your predecessors, then I will say it was unfortunate,’’ he fumed.

Parliament on Friday, March 23, 2018, ratified the controversial agreement. The Minority on the day staged a walkout after expressing their disapproval.



The ratification of the agreement would grant US military personnel, defence contractors and agents among other executive officials unrestricted access to Ghanaian facilities for military and humanitarian purposes, a situation many fear will compromise the sovereignty of the country.