The minister of defence, Dominic Nitiwul, says the government of Ghana spent $450,000 transporting soldiers to the Gambia as part of an ECOWAS intervention force that sought to remove Yahya Jammeh from power and replace him Adama Barrow, who won the Gambia presidential election.
Nitwul told parliament that Ghana incurred the amount after the United States failed to transport 205 Ghanaian troops to Gambia.
The minister said Ghana’s failure to quickly deploy to the West African country was due to logistical difficulties, stressing the need for the armed forces to be properly resourced.
“It is suggested that strategic series and other equipments need by the Armed Forces for such emergencies and for deployment at home and abroad be seriously looked at.
“But our troops are safe, Ghanaians in the Gambia are safe and our participation in the ECOWAS Mission has been commended highly by the ECOWAS mission, the international community and the Gambia,†he said.