Ghana’s Embassy in Washington DC has been closed temporarily effective Monday, May 26, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finalizes ongoing restructuring and systems overhaul.
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said with the firm support of President John Dramani Mahama, he had carried out drastic and decisive actions following the damming findings of a special audit team he had put together a couple of months ago to investigate alleged corrupt practices at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington DC.
The measures included the immediate dismissal of Mr Fred Kwarteng, a local staff recruited on August 11, 2017, to work in the Embassy’s IT Department.
According to findings and Kwarteng’s admission, he created an unauthorized link on the Embassy’s website, which diverted visa and passport applicants to his company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC) where he charged extra for multiple services on the blind side of the Ministry and kept the entire proceeds in his private account.
Kwarteng’s illegal extra charges, which were not approved by the Ministry and Parliament, as required under the fees Act range from $29.75 to $60 per applicant.
“The Investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least five years,” the statement said.
“This conduct has been reported to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes.”
The statement said all Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted to the Washington Embassy had been recalled home with immediate effect, while the Embassy’s IT Department had been promptly dissolved.
It said all locally recruited staff at the Embassy had been suspended.
The statement noted that the Auditor-General had been invited to conduct a forensic examination of all transactions and to determine the total cost of this elaborate fraudulent scheme.
It said any inconvenience these radical measures might cause visa and passport applicants was regretted.
“President Mahama’s Government will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption, naked conflict of interest, and blatant abuse of office,” the statement said.
GNA
