Corruption, Mismanagement and Negligence at the Ghana embassy in Spain Madrid

To: The Hon. Minister,ministry of foreign affairs
ACCRA

4Th June 2014
Madrid -Spain

Dear Hon.Minister,

Corruption, Mismanagement and Negligence at the Ghana embassy in Spain Madrid.

I will like to draw your attention to the issues that affects and tarnish the image of Ghana. The Ghana mission in Madrid is so corrupt that when a Ghanaian citizen goes to the embassy for a consular assistance, you have to bribe the receptionist before you can be assisted and you will be charge for the consular fee as well. Many people have complained of this dubious act that goes in the embassy.

Hon. Minister, a lost passport is said to be 230 euros right? and new passport is 130 euros right? Please kindly call the embassy or send an auditor to make cross check on receipt books from January this year to May and see if he will see a fee for lost passport which they charge 230 euros in the books. I have 5 people who paid 230 euros for lost passport and was issued with 130 euros receipt. I don't want to mention names but a lot of citizens claimed that their passports were lost and they have been issued with passports without receipts.

Meanwhile at the reception it is written that, passports are process in 7 working days and when you bribe them 20 or 30 or 50 euros, you get it the same day.

The working hours and attention too is very bad. You will go there early to do your consular document and only to hear that the accountant is not yet in for them to give you receipt.

The economic crises in Spain has affected a lot of Ghanaian citizens who cannot even get money to renew their expired passports and are even thinking and hoping that the embassy will reduce some of the consular charges. Please a lot of money is going in to the pockets of individuals and needs serious attention.

The consul who has been sent to Spain to see the welfare of Ghanaian citizens does not have the mercy and sympathy on Ghanaians. Early this year a Ghanaian citizen was burnt in a fire outbreak in Getafe and he didn't show up. Another death incident happened at Huelva and the embassy was informed and no one show up again. Events that are been organised by various Ghana association do send invitation to the embassy and they don't honour the invitations.

Even if a Ghanaian citizen is dying and we make phone calls to the embassy, they don't pick calls.

I have the following phone numbers of the embassy if you call the visa section, the person who answer the call will talk very harshly and rubbish and finally hanging up on you.

You can please call this numbers to see if they will answer you, +34915670443 or +34915670440 and +34915701059. They will not answer and the calls goes to answering machine which is very expensive. And when you are answered just say visa section and information on visa requirements. Visa applicants complained how badly they have been attended to.

I will end here with much action to be taken on this unfair situation.

Thank you

Signed(Concerned Citizen)

Naomi Lartey