You are here: HomeOpinionsArticles2006 11 06Article 113396

Opinions of Monday, 6 November 2006

Columnist: Adumua, Sam

Ghana Embassy-The Most Inefficient Institution In UK

I am writing this critique in a very incensed mood, I can no longer be in command of my language as I prepare to go to town with the Ghana High commission in UK.

Before I say anything at all, I will beseech his Excellency the president to do well to get rid of most if not all the workers at the embassy. I know some people will question this proposition, because their fathers, mothers, brothers and sister and friends earn their livelihood there.

I would like to know the criteria used to plump for these people from our humble country to come and work in the UK or their qualifications. Whether they either know or empathize what customer service is or entails? And to the directors whether they have the necessary vision to market the country to achieve the so-called golden age of business? These are the question we need to ask before we even think about sending people here on taxpayers’ money to come and frustrate/waste people’s time.

I wish to state unconditionally that most of the workers at the Ghana high commission in UK are just ineffectual; they just do not know what they are about. They have telephone facility but you can call them over hundred times without any response. Their phones rings several time but no one bothers to answer it, you will leave messages but no one cares to return your call. That is to say at the embassy, the word customer service seems to be ages away from them. The workers think we are rather here to serve them, they have no better means of tracking either visa/passport application, and in fact the system there is absolutely worthless. I think it will be better for the passport and visa section to be closed so we can all apply for those services in Ghana.

I recently told a friend that for your call to be answered at the embassy, you really have to do a serious fasting and prayer, because your chance of getting an answer is 1:100. When you call and you are lucky for someone to answer the call, the person seems so tied or sick, and the tone of the speech is nothing good to write home about. No wonder a friend of mine said some of them do some early morning cleaning jobs before reporting to work.

On the issue with passport application, I think it is one of the most useless one in any part of the world. At this age, one cannot download a common passport form through the Internet or order it on phone, pay for it and return it to the embassy when completed. The only means by which you can purchase a passport form from the embassy is to travel from wherever you are to London Highgate Hill to pay by cash or postal order. So if you leave in Scotland or any other part of England you still have to travel for so many hours just to purchase a form, which cost only £15.00. This is a shame to our dear nation. We cannot be chasing investors all the time without put up the necessary structure to manage them.

All that I want to say is that, the personnel at the embassy are totally useless; they do not care about the consequence of their action. I lost over £500 this year because of their ineffiency to process my passport in time. They have stated on their form that passport application takes not more than two weeks, yet it took about 2 months to process an application I made three months ago. We have applied for another replacement passport and is almost getting to a month now with no signs of receiving the new passport. I have to cancel my holiday this December because I could not travel together with the family. The situation is really bad at the embassy and I believe the best solution is to recruit young and energetic graduate who have the zeal to work for their dear nation and get rid of all the inefficient/uncivilised workers. To me they are just useless.

I challenge anyone in UK to call try and call the embassy and see if they will respond, hope this email fine them in good health, because they are really sick. GOD HELP GHANA.

Adumoa Sam
East Midlands (United Kingdom)


Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.