The Opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, Minority in Parliament has expressed strong reservations over the government’s decision to deploy military personnel to border towns across Ghana to enforce a ban on grain exports.
According to James Agalga, Minority spokesperson on Defence and Interior, the deployment of the military without any timelines and broader consultations with stakeholders raises several questions and suspicions.
“The Immigration Service is statutorily empowered to manage and patrol the country’s borders as a first line of defense. The Customs Service, on the other hand, compliments the Immigration service in the exercise of its preventive functions along our borders,” Agalga said at a press conference.
He questioned the involvement of the military, saying, “Any attempt to deploy the military when there is no evidence to show that the Immigration and Customs services will be overwhelmed in the enforcement of the ban on the exportation of grain heightens our suspicions.”
In 2020, the government deployed troops to the Volta Region, a stronghold of the opposition, under the guise of maintaining peace.
The move was widely criticized as an attempt to suppress votes.
Now, with the grain export ban, the Minority sees a similar pattern emerging.
“We expect the government to engage stakeholders and consult broadly. Whatever it is, the government should leave the military out of its political games,” Agalga said.
BY Daniel Bampoe