Government Students On Scholarship In Morocco Petition Minister Hannah Tetteh

Dear Hon. Hanna Tetteh,

As concerned members of the Ghanaian Students Association of Morocco (GHASAM), we are compelled to come out publicly to convey to your attention and that of the generality of Ghanaians the seemingly unending plights and predicaments we (students on Ghana Government scholarships in the Kingdom of Morocco) are facing in view of the inadequacy of the current monthly stipends of US$ 250.00 each student receives amidst the high cost of living in Morocco.

Indeed, apart from the regular expenditure on food and transport which consumes a large portion of the monthly allowance, an average Ghanaian student also spends between 1,000 Dirhams (US$ 105.00) and 1,200 Dirhams (US$ 125.00) monthly on accommodation / rented apartment and utilities.

Madam Minister, we guess you may be wondering why our concerns rather seek to attract your attention instead of being channelled through the Ghana Embassy in Rabat, Morocco to the Scholarships Secretariat in Accra. It is all because of the unprofessional conducts, lukewarm attitude and the vindictive attitude of some officials at the Ghana Embassy in Rabat, whose actions and behavioural patterns have the potential of not only causing wider protests and agitations by the generality of students in Morocco but could also tarnish the good image of Ghana.

Madam minister, you may want to ponder for a minute over reasons some of Ghana's missions abroad are avoided and subsequently lambasted by the very Ghanaian nationals whose interests and wellbeing such missions are supposed to protect and promote. One reason we are certainly aware of is the unprofessional conduct and the pursuit of parochial interests as exemplified by the Head of Administration at the Ghana Embassy in Rabat, Mr. Freeheart Dela Tsey in the discharge of his official duties much to the detriment of the generality of Ghanaian nationals including students on Ghana Government scholarship in the kingdom.

It is regrettable Mr. Tsey's actions are driven and indeed intensified not only by a harmless enquiry the student leadership recently made regarding the management and the disbursement of the Students' Medical and Welfare Fund which is under the custody of the embassy, but also by his intense desire to satisfy his sexual exploits among the unsuspecting young Ghanaian ladies on Ghana Government scholarship in the kingdom. For these reasons, the officer has vowed to discreetly frustrate students and make life uncomfortable for them for as long as he continues to serve in that mission.

It is pertinent to explain that, in 2010, a decision was taken by the embassy with the consent of the leadership of GHASAM to use the annual health allowance of US$ 200.00 allocated to each student by the Scholarships Secretariat to establish the Medical and Welfare Fund under the management by the embassy from which students' medical bills are paid.

Unfortunately however, in spite of the good motive behind the establishment of this Fund, there have been so many controversies surrounding the usage and the disbursement of the Fund which threaten to defeat the purpose for which it was established. The entire students have come to realise that during the period the embassy was without a substantive ambassador, Mr. Freeheart Dela Tsey capitalised on the financial difficulties and challenges the students were facing to satisfy his sexual exploits by deliberately frustrating some of the young ladies as and when they incurred medical expenditure. The vulnerable ones, who for reasons of their financial difficulties were lured into accepting proposal for sex as a prerequisite for approval of their request for refund.

Sadly enough, these deliberate delays to approve students' requests for the refund of expenditure on health which is being perpetuated in collaboration with the Financial Secretary, has unleashed hardship on us and indeed compelled a large number of students to rather resort to self medications instead of seeking medical attention at certified hospitals and clinics.

Sometime last year, the entire student body, haven been frustrated and disheartened by the developments, requested the accounts section of the embassy to furnish the student leadership with the statement of account of the Medical and Welfare Fund. When the statement was finally given to us, we detected several anomalies and malfeasances including the purchase of air ticket worth 16,196.00 Dirhams (US$ 1,712.00) and taking of an impress of US$ 2,000.00 from the Fund by Mr. Freeheart Dela Tsey to accompany the remains of one Ghanaian student, who unfortunately met his untimely death while studying here in Morocco, to Ghana. We were shocked and surprised by this revelation because we were certain that his returned ticket for the trip was paid for by the Scholarships Secretariat.

Moreover, there is no indication on the account statement that he retired the impress after his return to Morocco. Saddened by this occurrence, the student leadership decided to seek explanation from him. Surprisingly, Mr. Tsey could not offer any explanation to the leadership but rather got furious and requested the ambassador, Professor Samuel Quartey to abolish the Medical and Welfare Fund. He further told us that the money no longer belongs to students once it was used to create the Fund. In fact the mystery surrounding the US$ 2,000.00 impress is yet to be resolved. We are therefore appealing to you, Madam Minister, to use your good office to help us recover this money from Mr. Tsey.

Madam minister, indeed it is very sad that the monthly allowance of US$ 250.00 paid to each student is not only insufficient to cover the full monthly expenditure of an average Ghanaian student in the kingdom, but disbursement to students is deliberately delayed by the Mr. Tsey in collaboration with the ineffective Financial Secretary of the embassy, known only as Madam Henrietta, who is noted for her rude and discourteous behaviour towards students for no apparent reason. As a result of such delays, we encounter numerous threats of ejection from our apartments by our landlords / landladies who usually expect their rent by 25th day of every month. It is rather unfortunate that the 35 fresh students who were offered scholarships for the 2014/2015 academic year were not spared of this inhumane and merciless treatment by Mr. Tsey and Madam Henrietta following their arrival in Morocco in December, 2014. This batch of students became stranded in Rabat just last month (January, 2015) nearly a month after their arrival due to the usual deliberate delays in the disbursement of our rather scanty monthly allowance. Indeed, they had to match up to the embassy in their numbers to stage a sit in at the embassy for hours before the 2 officers reluctantly attended to them.

Particularly, Mr. Tsey's general conduct and behaviour leave a large number of students wondering whether he was actually trained as a diplomat in view of his harsh temperament and the indiscreet manner by which he runs after the young Ghanaian ladies on Government scholarship in this country. This has become the topic for discussion among the Ghanaian students and some other foreign students. He has been seen several times using the representational Mercedes Benz with Registration No. CDM- 123-1 (a car reserved for use by ambassador alone) to drop different young Ghanaian ladies (students) at the Cite International Hostel in Rabat at separate occasions while the substantive ambassador himself was away in Ghana for his vacation.

The sad aspect of it is that the Mercedes Benz that is supposed to be reserved for exclusive use by Ghana's ambassador to the kingdom of Morocco has been nicknamed ''First Class Sexy Caravan''. Mr. Tsey has told some of his victims, notably Ms. Miriam Omari and Ms. Afia Kontor (both Ghanaian students) on separate occasions that he had divorced his wife and wanted to marry them. Unfortunately for him, these victims who were in the same room subsequently read love messages he sent to them on each other's phones which brought a lot of confusion between them. In fact, Mr. Dela is generally known among the Ghanaian students in Morocco to have been characterised by his animalistic tendency towards sex due to his indiscriminate way of attempting to have sexual affairs with any lady he comes into contact with. Now, there is general apprehension and tension between him and the generality of students who feel he has brought the good name of Ghana into disrepute by his conduct and indiscreet behaviour.

The saddest aspect of it is that, quite recently a Ghanaian student had a misunderstanding with another international student from a sister Francophone West African country after a church service. This minor misunderstanding subsequently degenerated into confrontation and heated argument over which country's ambassador's official vehicle was being used to pick all sorts of ladies in Morocco and which country's diplomat is competing and fighting with students over ladies.

When the current ambassador of Ghana to Morocco, Professor Samuel Quartey arrived in Morocco in August last year, by virtue of his background as a retired professor, we were particularly excited with the hope that he would instil discipline in the embassy by calling Mr. Freeheart Dela Tsey to order and also champion the course of the Ghanaian student in Morocco. Unfortunately, 5 months after his arrival, although a very nice elderly statesman, he appears to have adopted a laissez- faire attitude which might be attributed to his age and luck of knowledge about the development. In all the meetings that GHASAM leadership had with him, especially regarding our financial burdens and the need to speed up the disbursement of our rather meagre monthly stipends and medical refunds, we have always been assured of quick disbursement; a promise that is yet to be fulfilled.

Madam Minister, we must admit that, it is not all officials at the embassy who turn blind eye towards the concerns of students. The immediate past Finance Officer, Mr. Kofi Kpokpo, 5 months after his departure from Morocco is still being remembered as a hardworking accounts officer who was really up to the task and accordingly discharged his responsibilities towards students creditably.

Also, the current Counsellor in charge of Consular and Student Affairs, Mr. Abdul Latif is another industrious and disciplined officer who has distinguished himself to the admiration of not only Ghanaian students but other foreign students and the officials at the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI). He has been very active and quick in responding to students' concerns any time he is called upon indeed even when it is midnight. He has demonstrated committed to his duties and responsibilities to the extent that both students and Ghanaian immigrants in Morocco speak so well of him and we encourage him to continue in that regard.

Madam Minister, we are therefore very hopeful that you will act upon this open letter by instilling discipline in the Ghana Embassy in Morocco and collaborating with the Scholarships Secretariat for the resolution of the challenges we are facing here in Morocco as Ghana Government sponsored students.

Sincerely yours,

Concerned members of the Ghanaian Students

Association of Morocco (GHASAM)

2015-02-03 142630