OSP must publish findings on alleged sale of diplomatic passports

Managing Editor of The Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbe, has welcomed the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) decision to investigate alleged irregularities in the issuance of Ghanaian diplomatic passports.

He has called for the findings to be made available to the public and compared with those of other ongoing investigations to establish the facts.

Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Tuesday, November 10, Mr Dogbe also urged authorities to disclose the identities of persons whose diplomatic passports have been cancelled and those allegedly holding the documents without justification.

“It’s good that the OSP is coming in to investigate this matter. I would want to see what they come out with,” he said.

His comments follow allegations that some individuals paid money to acquire diplomatic passports, with reported payments ranging from GH¢5,000 to US$29,000.

The journalist said he was concerned by the allegations, particularly claims that individuals who do not qualify for diplomatic passports had obtained and used them to travel outside the country.

He also questioned the decision to cancel about 10 diplomatic passports without publicly disclosing the identities of the affected holders.

The journalist further referred to claims by the Minority that more than 300 people had acquired diplomatic passports and used them to travel to Europe and other destinations.

He called for the publication of the names of the affected persons to enable the public to scrutinise whether they qualified to hold the documents.

“We should have the names, and then let’s scrutinise them,” he said.