The Director of Public Affairs at the US Embassy in Ghana, Daniel Fennell has revealed that the Government of Ghana will be partly funding the upkeep of the ex-inmates of Guantanamo Bay being housed in the country.
“It’s a shared expense for the upkeep…we are contributing some for the monitoring and upkeep of the individuals and…we are contributing some money towards that and the government of Ghana is making all the arrangements and taking care of them,” Mr. Fennell told Kwasi Pratt in an interview on TV3.
When pushed further by Mr. Pratt on whether Ghana’s government was using tax payers’ money to pay for the upkeep of the ex-detainees, Mr. Fennel said “I think so…is that so difficult to imagine that Ghana would pay for something that is happening in Ghana?”
He added “I think it’s laudable and we should be proud of Ghana…the government of Ghana under the constitution is responsible for the security of everything in Ghana so they are keeping track at it, they are better at it, they are smart and we think they are doing an excellent job.”
His comments are in sharp contradiction to claims by government officials who hitherto stated that the government of Ghana would not pay for the upkeep of the ex-inmates while they stay in Ghana.
Deputy Communications Minister Felix Kwakye-Ofosu in an earlier interview with Starr News stated that the full cost for the upkeep of the ex-detainees was going to be provided by the US government.