MAY 25TH 2010

The Ghanaweb on May 19th 2010 carried an article culled from The Ghanaian Journal titled “Visa Fraud at Ghana Embassy in US”, which suggested that a Ghanaian national resident in the United States had cause to be displeased with the services of the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Ghana in Washington DC.

The article made reference to a case involving the loss of an expired passport that was sent to the Chancery through the United States’ postal system for re-issue. Upon our careful reading of the publication, it appears that this unfortunate incident and a series of unsubstantiated comments purportedly made by other unspecified individuals, have given the author reason to conclude that some members of staff at the Embassy are engaged in the illegal sale of passports.

There is no denying that the Embassy has had its peculiar challenges in meeting the consular needs of the large number of clients in the United States and beyond, including problems associated with mail and courier services and in some instances, failure of some applicants to provide all the required information and documentation in support of their applications. However, due to the continuous review of its operations and the conscious effort at improving The Embassy’s performance, reports of loss of passports or delays in processing of applications have been few and far between. The few reported cases of loss of passports have been largely on account of the problems associated with the regular postal services and the failure of applicants to heed the advice posted on the Embassy’s website to use more reliable couriers such as Fedex or other trackable mail services.

To rectify the situation described above the Embassy has adopted the following measures: - i. In enforcing the Embassy’s advice, all applications are henceforth to be forwarded by more reliable courier services such as Fedex or other trackable postal services; ii. Bulk delivery of visa applications by travel and tour agents will no longer be accepted. As a corollary, applicants are to submit their individual passports directly to the Embassy together with duly stamped or prepaid self-addressed return envelopes These measures are intended to facilitate the speedy processing of applications and to enable the Embassy determine the point at which such losses occur. It would interest the reading public to know that occasionally the Office of Information Management & Liaison Passport Services of the U.S Department of State forwards lost and found Ghana Passports to the Embassy for its attention. These passports are forwarded to the U.S Department of State by the various postal services and law enforcement agencies in the United States. This is a clear indication that some passports do in fact get lost in the postal system, and thus it is erroneous for the publication to suggest that the US postal system is perfect.

In the most recent incident involving the loss of a passport, which may have been the subject of the publication, the package delivered at the Chancery by a courier of the US Post Office had been tampered with at the time of delivery and did not contain the applicant’s passport. In collaboration with the applicant and the US Post Office, the Embassy sought to establish the whereabouts of the missing passport. As it turned out, the post office could not conduct a search for the passport because the package in which it was sent was not trackable.

It may be of interest to also note that on a daily basis, the Consular Section processes an average of 120 passport applications and 450 visa applications, received from all corners of the United States as well as other countries in North and South America. In view of its performance, the Embassy was recognized for its achievements at the recent Policy Fair held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The Embassy remains committed to providing efficient and reliable services to its numerous clients and in that regard is appreciative of constructive criticism and suggestions. We would, therefore, welcome more specific information on the cases referred to in the publication to facilitate our internal investigations into the allegations. In the same vein, we wish to appeal to the individuals concerned to contact the Embassy directly to resolve the matter on hand.

Although it represents a crucial function of the Embassy, consular services are only one aspect of its work. The Embassy is actively engaged in building Ghana’s image in the United States and promoting trade and investment as well as political and cultural ties between the two countries and for the wider benefit of Ghanaians; and so it is unfortunate when one event or incident is used to attack the Embassy as it were, and to negate its good work. The Embassy would, therefore, appeal for consultations in times of any lapses in its consular operations for the necessary explanations and clarifications to be provided and in so doing also urge measured and temperate language in addressing issues at all times.

The author of the article claimed to have done thorough investigations, which confirmed the allegation. In the interest of justice and fairness we would have expected the author and editors to consult the Embassy. To the best of our knowledge, no such approaches were made and we were condemned without a hearing. Let us never forget such reports create negative impressions of our dear nation Ghana.

We wish to assure our esteemed clients of our commitment to serving them with honesty, integrity and efficiency and remain focused in the pursuance of the Embassy’s important role in promoting the socio-economic advancement of Ghana.