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Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has come under fierce criticism over the government’s acceptance of some deportees from the USA.
Ablakwa, in an interview with Channel One TV maintains that the arrangement is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US, and therefore does not require parliamentary ratification.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, in Banful and Another v Attorney-General held that, all “treaties, agreements or conventions” by reason of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution must be ratified by Parliament.
Ablakwa’s Own Words on ‘MoUs & Note Verbale’ In Parliament on August 1, 2017 after the now infamous Supreme Court Judgment on GITMO 2 Saga.
“…Mr. Speaker, that raises a matter the judges stressed on page 14 of the judgment. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court said that, and with your permission, I quote:
“The Constitution of Ghana bears no distinction between Executive and non-Executive Agreements”.
“MR. SPEAKER, THIS JUDGMENT NOW MEANS THAT EVERY NOTE VERBALE AND EVERY MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA ENTERS INTO WITH ANOTHER FOREIGN ENTITY MUST COME TO PARLIAMENT FOR RATIFICATION.
He added: “Our learned former Hon. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and our current Hon Attorney-General and Minister for Justice held the view that there’s the need for us to have a distinction as a country. They cited the Constitutions of the United States of America and South Africa.”
“Mr Speaker, just yesterday, while listening to the Hon. Minister for Finance deliver the 2017 Mid-Year Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy, he indicated that there’s a new Agreement that President Akufo-Addo has entered into with his counterpart in Ivory Coast where they are collaborating to prevent smuggling of cocoa and so on.”
“Mr. Speaker, this House has not seen that agreement, and there are a plethora of such agreements that would normally not come to Parliament for ratification.”
“MR. SPEAKER, NOW BY VIRTUE OF THIS JUDGMENT ALL THOSE AGREEMENTS, NOTE VERBALE AND MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOUs) HAVE TO COME TO THIS HOUSE. I believe that moving forward, we may have to take advantage of a possible constitutional review to create the distinction that the Judges of the Supreme Court have talked about which is currently lacking in our Constitution between the Executive and Non-Executive agreements”.
(See Parliamentary Debates, Official Report (Hansard), August 1, 2017.
It therefore begs the question why Ablakwa, in 2025, would now tell Ghanaians that MoUs entered into with other countries do not require parliamentary approval or ratification.
