Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that Ghana will in the coming days welcome an additional 40 West African deportees from the United States.
His announcement follows criticism from the Minority in Parliament, who earlier faulted government for accepting 14 deportees from the US this month without parliamentary approval.
Government, however, has maintained that the agreement is guided by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States, which does not require parliamentary ratification.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, September 17, Mr. Ablakwa confirmed the imminent arrival of the new group.
“I can reveal to you that we’re expecting another 40 in the next few days. We vet them before they come,” he stated.
The Minister emphasised that Ghana’s decision to host the deportees was rooted in humanitarian considerations, not politics.
According to him, government’s move was informed by the harsh conditions and rights violations many deportees suffer abroad.
“We didn’t agree to this because we support President Trump’s immigration policies. We’re not doing the US a favour. We’re doing our fellow Africans a favour — we’re offering them refuge, hope, and we want them to come back home and be comfortable.
We solidarised with them when we saw those images — the arrests, the violation of their rights, and their being detained against their will. It’s as if nobody wants to take them.
It was purely on a humanitarian basis; we did not take any financial benefits. We’re doing this because we want to continue to position Ghana as the Mecca for Africans,” he explained.
