Member of Parliament and Foreign Affairs Committee member, Patrick Boamah, has urged Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to immediately reopen Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., despite ongoing investigations into alleged corruption at the mission.
The embassy was temporarily shut down following a special audit report that uncovered a fraudulent scheme involving a locally recruited IT staff member, Fred Kwarteng.
The audit found that Kwarteng had created an unauthorized link on the embassy’s website, redirecting visa and passport applicants to his private company, where illegal fees were charged.
Speaking in an interview, Boamah criticized the closure, arguing that it lacked diplomatic tact and could harm Ghana’s international reputation. “The mission ought to be reopened immediately for business to continue while investigations go on,” he stated.
Boamah emphasized that the minister had the authority to ensure those responsible for the alleged fraud were held accountable. “The minister has every power to deploy the force of state to ensure that those behind the allegation or alleged offence are brought to book,” he added.
He further stressed the importance of handling diplomacy with care, warning that the closure could disrupt business and bilateral relations. “It’s been more than 72 hours, and if somebody has a business to do in Ghana and made arrangements to come to Ghana to meet the business community, or any CSO or media or whatever institution, that person’s arrangement has been put into jeopardy,” Boamah noted.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced that the embassy will reopen on Thursday, May 29, following a restructuring and systems overhaul. A team of seasoned diplomats has been tasked with restoring integrity to the embassy’s operations, while an IT team works to eliminate unauthorized links from the website.
Despite the planned reopening, Boamah insists that the closure was unnecessary and could have been handled differently. “Diplomacy requires some tactfulness to ensure that our image globally is protected,” he remarked.
As investigations continue, the Auditor-General and Attorney-General have been notified to take further action and impose appropriate sanctions on those involved in the fraudulent scheme
Meanwhile, Boamah also weighed in on the controversy surrounding missing containers belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), calling for Energy Minister John Jinapor to clarify discrepancies in the reported numbers.
Initially, reports indicated that 1,300 containers were missing, but recent investigations revealed that 2,637 containers had been located at the Tema Port, more than double the originally reported figure.
Boamah criticized officials who make premature announcements without verified information, stating that such actions can be politically motivated and misleading. He urged the Energy Minister to appear before Parliament to provide a detailed and accurate report on the number of missing and recovered containers. “There is too much inconsistency in these reports, and the minister must address Parliament to provide clarity,” he said.
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