News:
October 27, 2017
The Speaker of Parliament has directed the Committee on Foreign Affairs to investigate claims of daily inhumane treatments Ghanaian suffer in their quest to acquire visa from other Embassies in the country.
The Committee is expected to present its findings to the plenary for action.
The Speaker’s directive follows a statement made by Ranking Member on the Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa enumerating the challenges citizens faced in their efforts to acquire visa.
The ranking member who is Member of Parliament for North Tongu demands from foreign embassies to show respect and fair treatment to Ghanaians.
He expressed sadness that most of the Embassies have failed to make provisions for descent and safe waiting places to accommodate visa applicants while they wait for their turns.
‘’I have personally made the effort to visit a number of Embassies during their interview appointment periods, and what I have observed leaves me rather outraged, you find fellow Ghanaians standing in open places, some left to wait at street shoulders and roundabouts with no one caring about the associated risk posed by motorist, others left at the mercy of the vagaries of the weather’’ he said.
MrAblakwawho was not happy about the exorbitant visa processing fees charged by these Embassies also expressed disappointment at the unfortunate complicit behaviour of some Ghanaians who are aid in perpetrating such inhuman actsagainst theirfellow Ghanaians.
“What is even more worrying is the fact that often some of the embassy staff who treat Ghanaian visa applicants with such disdain are fellow Ghanaians.
A new trend is also emerging where some embassies, apart from their standard visa processing fees, demand all kinds of extra fees and charges under various guises.
These guises range from express fees, early appointment fees, email fees, text message fees and so on and so forth. The sad reality is that in many instances, despite the fact that applicants pay through the nose, the embassies who charge all these extra fees do not keep to their side of the bargain while these vulnerable visa applicants are made to keep paying for the inefficiency and unreliability of the embassies,” he stated.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Frank Annoh-Dompreh agreed with the concerns raised by the maker of the statement.
The Speaker therefore directed that his office in collaboration with the Committee to visit the various Embassies to ascertain the claims and report back to the house for action.
By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com