The Ghana Embassy in Rome has scored again! This is not Asamoah Gyan nor Kevin Prince Boateng who have scored for Ghana Black Stars but Her Excellency, Madam Anita Stoke – Hayford, Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy and the Honurable Minister of Consulate Services, Mr. Charles Baah and their able team who have stroke home again, this time not in Verona but at Vicenza.

Her Excellency Madam Anita Stoke Hayford and her dexterous equip are really working very hard to make life of Ghanaians living in Italy comfortable, with the introduction of the Ghana Embassy’s policy of Consular services at your door step, many Ghanaians living in Italy have welcome this programme with all their hearts and mind….. Seeing they say, is believing, and many Ghanaians who got the opportunity to come to the UIL’s Office of Alte di Montecchio Maggiore in Vicenza witness the large turn out at last weekend event.

As at 10am on Friday 27th August 2010 the venue for the two day event was filled to capacity awaiting for the staff of Ghana Embassy to serve them, though the programme was scheduled to start at 02:30pm and end at 8:30pm the hard working staff stayed on at work till 10:00pm. Over three hundred Ghanaians who came to the venue on Friday and Saturday presented applications for new passports, renewal of passports, dual Citizenship, Consular declarations, translations, authentication of documents, application for Ghana visa as well as Counselling. On Saturday 28th August the programme started at 8.00hrs and continued till 20.00hrs.

The Ghana Embassy’s Consular Services at your door step, which began in Verona three weeks ago received a very good start but it took a fruitful trend on the second trip to Vicenza, this is a programme in which the embassy travels to individual cities in Italy to attend the needs of Ghanaians, especially in the spheres of resolving documentation issues pertaining to stabilizing the legal status of legal Ghanaian residents in Italy, whereas under normal circumstances individual Ghanaians are suppose to travel to Rome to have these documents acquired and/or rectified. This programme introduce by the Embassy under the leadership of her Excellency Madam Anita and Minister Baah has alleviated many difficulties encountered Ghanaians in Italy, like the tiredness, and stress that people go through in travelling for 6 to 8 hours to Rome, not to talk of the high costs involved. If fact through this service each individual can boast of at least a e100.00 savings on the Transport alone.

This weekend event was boosted when Her Excellency Madam Anita Hayford, Minister Baah and Mr. Simon who were on an investment trip to Arzignano in the Vicenza Province made an un announce visit to venue to exchange pleasantries with the Ghanaians in queue for the services and also to see their staff who were attending to clients.

One has to remark that the past two events will not have been successful with out the cooperation and collaboration of the Council of Ghanaian nationals Associations in Italy (COGNAI) and the Ghanaian Nationals Associations of Verona and Vicenza.

I will like to use this opportunity to thank the Ambassador Madam Anita, Minister Baah, Mr. Simon, Mr. Sarfo, Mr. Nii Larbie, Madam Ruth Addy and all the staff for all the good work they are doing in making the life of Ghanaians in Italy really easy.

Special thanks to the General Secretay of COGNAI, Mr. Gilbert Abasimi, the entire COGNAI executives and the youth of the Ghanaian Nationals Association of Vicenza. May the good Lord richly bless you all. In few days time the venue for the next event will be announced to all Ghanaians living Italy for others to have their share of this wonderfull programme but when I look into the crystal ball it will be in the lombadia region either in lecco or bergamo……….

From Kirk-Mensah COGNAI - Italy