Foreign Minister summoned for visa restrictions in the United States

General News of Friday, February 1, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-02-01

The Foreign Affairs Committee convened Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey on the visa restrictions imposed by the United States on Ghana by the Department of Homeland Security.

Clement Apaak, a member of the Committee, said that leaders on both sides of the House had taken the issue seriously, hence the decision to invite the minister.

"Early next week, we will have a meeting with the minister and we will inform the public of the way forward. But we hope that the government will be ready for anything so that we know how to solve this problem, "he told Joseph Opoku Gakpo of Joy News.

His comment follows an announcement by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implementing visa penalties against Ghana.

In a press release dated January 31, 2019, he explained that the sanctions resulted from Ghana's non-acceptance of its nationals who had been removed from the United States.

"Ghana has not respected its obligations under international law to accept the return of its nationals who have been expelled from the United States," said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen. Nielsen.

In May 2018, Ghana's ambbadador to the United States, Dr. Baffour Adjei-Bawuah, was caught playing cat and mouse with US authorities to sign the deportation of more than 7,000 people arrested in the United States.

Obviously, in a solution, he told Joy News, "it is difficult for me to sanction the expulsion of my citizen and I try to explain it to the authorities".

He argued that the DHS has all the documents and information allowing the person to be brought to the United States, so that it does not need confirmation from the US. Embbady of Ghana.

"We were only talking about some fairness and the embbady was not necessarily pushing for it to agree to see some people being deported. That's where we had a difference of opinion with the US authorities, "he said.

In September, however, the problem resurfaced and Dr. Adjei-Bawuah retreated, claiming that the two countries had reached a diplomatic agreement with the authorities on the deportation.

He added that there was no more conflict with the nationality of the people concerned, which had been a bone of contention before.

This was, however, disputed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Unsatisfied with the way the problem was handled, Apaak said that Ghana should not have waited for the issue to escalate, as some measures could have been taken to thwart the current action of the Americans.

"Whether we like it or not, they made their decision and we must respond appropriately. That's why we have to meet with the minister to decide together what to do, "he said.

Mr. Apaak said that with respect to calls for retaliation, it is important to ask the minister for a briefing in order to make a positive decision for the country and its citizens.

According to him, the Foreign Affairs Committee talks about the same hymnal sheet when it comes to protecting the interests of Ghanaians. They will do everything in their power with all the options available.

He criticized the Government and the Ministry for failing to provide information to the Foreign Affairs Committee after the problem was raised.

"The government, through the department and the ambbadador to the United States, gave very confusing answers and contradicted themselves at some point. When the ambbadador informed the media on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States stating that an agreement had been reached, the minister told him later contradicts.

He thinks the US authorities took the confusing communication to mean that Ghana was not serious in dealing with the issue, which left it no choice but to make such a tough decision.

Mr Apaak said that if Ghana did not solve the problem quickly, he foresaw an escalation of the problem by US authorities.