ACCRA, Sept 28 (The African Portal) – Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has dismissed reports that the country has agreed to receive deported criminals from the United States.
He said Ghana would not become a “dumping ground” for people removed from the US, describing the speculation in local media as unfounded.
Mr Ablakwa explained that since Ghana successfully secured the reversal of US visa restrictions imposed under the Trump administration, “an avalanche of conspiracy theories” had been circulating.
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He stressed that the decision had nothing to do with hosting US deportees. “Ghana has not entered into any agreement with the US to receive criminals,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Ghana will accept West Africans
The minister clarified that Ghana had agreed only to accept “a very limited number of pre-vetted West African nationals without criminal backgrounds,” in line with ECOWAS protocols. Citizens from ECOWAS countries are already permitted visa-free entry into Ghana.
He added that the agreement with Washington “will not undermine Ghana’s security and stability in any way.”
Mr Ablakwa also rejected suggestions that talks with the US were focused on removals.
He said ongoing negotiations covered wider issues, including a review of tariffs, a potential special trade deal, requests from US companies, and the future of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which supports Ghana’s garment industry.
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“The Mahama administration deeply cares for you,” he wrote, promising that the government would continue to “protect our strategic national interest” and ensure the best outcomes for Ghanaians.
Ghana-US deal
The United States recently lifted its visa restrictions imposed on Ghanaian nationals, a situation, the Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa described as “good news” last Friday, September 26.
