Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has clarified that Jamaica’s request for Ghanaian troops came directly from the Prime Minister of Jamaica to President John Dramani Mahama.
According to the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Ghana Armed Forces personnel are being deployed to support reconstruction efforts in Jamaica following recent devastation.
His comments come amid concerns raised by the Minority Caucus in Parliament over the government’s decision to deploy troops to Jamaica without prior parliamentary approval.
Speaking on TV3 on December 18, as monitored by NewsDesksGH, Mr Ablakwa dismissed suggestions that the deployment breaches constitutional requirements, insisting the mission is humanitarian and not combat-related.
“We asked them to show us any provision in the constitution, they couldn’t. We’re not deploying troops for combat, they need to get it. These are troops going on a humanitarian mission,” he said.
“Our 48 Engineers regiment, celebrated the world over, they have top engineers there. They’re going to help with the reconstruction. Moving away rubble, rebuilding houses, reconnecting water and electricity, building amenities and helping to bring back livelihood and restore the nation of Jamaica,” he explained.
He revealed that the Jamaican Prime Minister personally appealed for Ghana’s assistance, citing the country’s strong reputation in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.
“We donated relief items, medicines, food wash materials. And then this request for troops to help it came directly from the Prime Minister who called President Mahama,” he said.
“The Prime Minister of Jamaica called President Mahama and said ‘Mr. President, we really appreciate what you have done for us with your relief items. But we also would need additional help. We know of your troops the Ghana Armed Forces, top 5 UN troop contributing Nation’,” he disclosed.
He said President Mahama accepted the request and then instructed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to begin preparations.
Samuel Ablakwa urged Ghanaians to view the deployment with pride rather than suspicion, describing it as consistent with Ghana’s long-standing foreign policy values.
“This is Kwame Nkrumah’s GHANA. This is the empathy. We’ve never been inward looking, we’ve never been about just ourselves,” he said.
“We should make sure that our foreign policy is human centred and is empathetic,” he stated.
He added that Ghana’s history of humanitarian assistance should guide public reaction.
“If you know our rich traditions when it comes to humanitarian gestures, you will not be questioning this. You’ll rather be proud,” he said.
“We should never be a country of beggars, a country that is only interesting in taking from others. We should be able to help those who are in need.”
The Ghanaian troops were deployed to Jamaica on December 17, to assist with humanitarian and reconstruction efforts following the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa.
