GHANECC writes to Parliament

Nico C.M. van Staalduinen

(Ghana Netherlands Chamber of Commerce)

Accra, 20^th June 2013

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of  Interior, The Parliament, Minister of  Gender, Children and Social Protection

Honorable Ministers, Members of Parliament

I write to you on my behalf and the growing group of permanent foreign resident of Ghana.

Ghana is part of the global world, Ghanaians and Foreigners have travelled worldwide in the last 30 years and more frequently than in the previous millennia.      

Some Ghanaians abroad get married to citizens of that countries they live(d) in.

Most of these partners travel to Ghana because of their spouse and starts to assist their Ghanaian partner to remit monies to Ghana and in building their future homes; thus helping their families and the communities at large.

Ghanaians and their foreign partners abroad are remitting more money to Ghana than the official figures representing in these and other sectors:- tourism, construction etc.                                         More and more partners of these groups of internationally mixed marriages decide to move to Ghana with their Ghanaian spouses and live here “happily ever after”.          

These couples, often not high educated, manage to make a living in Ghana by creating small companies or simple jobs for Ghanaians. They are in no way comparable to the expatriate community who are often Diplomats, Directors of international companies, consultants and others, working at salaries within International Standards.

These “local” foreigners mostly have a reasonable Ghanaian salary and pay Ghanaian tax, Ghanaian school fees for their children and all other Ghanaian costs. They are often correctly taxed and “easier targeted” because of their color of skin, features or behavior than Ghanaians.     

The National Identification Card for foreigners was advertised and that draw my attention to the group of “Foreign “Ghanaians of which I am part; I feel victimized of this ID program.   

The National Identification Authority forgets completely about Foreigners who are permanent residents in Ghana.

I am not against the National Identification Card but I feel discriminated by the price that I have to pay for it.

I have to pay 120 Usd, for a card that Ghanaians obtain free of charge.                                        

Because of my 21 year marriage, I could decide to become a Ghanaian, which I would love to do, but my country of birth doesn’t allow dual citizen ship. Because of future pension rights I can’t afford to lose that, especially because I paid 32 years for that.    

The problem is not only the National Identification Card but many other occasions:-

• A Ghanaian can go to a government hospital and registers for Gh¢ 20.00 Whilst a foreigner  pays Gh¢ 60.00
• A Ghanaian can visit a national park and pay Gh¢2.00 Whilst a foreigner  pay Gh¢5.00
• A Ghanaian can visit a museum and pays Gh¢ 3.00 Whilst a foreigner  pay Gh¢10.00
• A Ghanaian can be registered for his pension and Health Insurance at SSNIT, Whilst a foreigner cannot. Because of that I end up paying over 250 Usd monthly for my insurance and can’t build up a pension, and there are many more examples.

I am asking and pleading with you to separate this growing group of “Local Foreigners” from other Foreigners and allow them to be at the same level as other Ghanaians in the future.          We are a special group of very Ghana minded and loving people who don’t need to be punished to move and live permanently in the country they came to love.

My recommendation for future amendments of the current law “discriminating” our group of residents in Ghana would be:-

Residents, Ghanaians and other permanent residents            Price -A                                          Non residents, Temporary residents                                        Price- B    

I am convinced my “complaint” and suggestions will get serious attention because the problem will only grow in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Nico van Staalduinen,

Honorable Consul.rtd. (Ghana) BBA (Netherlands), FBI(Ghana)