Extortion In The Name Of Immigration

Reports of incidents of monetary extortions at our entry points both at the ports and border posts across the length and breadth of this country have been rife, but most often than not, it is only those who fall victim that feel the pinch of this menace.

It is unacceptable when perpetrators of such disgraceful acts extend their activities to the premier airport of the country, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), which serves as the main entry point into Ghana.

Yesterday, The Chronicle carried a front page news item under the headline, “Baptist Church worried over high visa fees”, in which Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, President of the Ghana Baptist Convention was troubled over monetary extortions at the KIA.

According to the story, the Man of God, who was speaking at the opening of a four-day All Africa Baptist General Assembly, hosted by Ghana Baptist Convention in Accra, appealed to the   government to reduce the $150 charge for arrival visa fees at the KIA.

Rev Dr Adu-Gyamfi stressed that Ghana's charges appear to be on the high side and is three times higher than what visitors pay at other airports on the African continent.

According to him, information gathered indicates that a visitor who arrives at the Kotoka International Airport and pleads for reduction of the fee is asked to pay less, but he or she would not be given a receipt.

He appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency work hard to ensure that the canker is nipped in the bud.

Rev Dr. Adu Gyamfi wants to know where all the revenues go and The Chronicle associates itself with this poignant question

The Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, who was the guest speaker for the occasion promised to carry the visa fee complaint of the church to the appropriate governmental department for redress.

It is worthy to note that this is not the first time such a story is being aired or reported in the Ghanaian media, but it appears that the more the issue is being talked about, the more the uniformed officers at the various ports of entry continue to engage in these acts.

The Chronicle is very much aware that as a result of the unpatriotic attitude of some state security personnel, including the police, Ghana Immigration Service and CEPS, travelling through the KIA has become a hazardous experience.

Occurrences at the KIA make using the Ghana airport as awful as travelling by road across the borders of Ghana to Togo and Nigeria where immigration and security officers intimidate, harass and extort money from travellers in broad daylight.

A story is told of a Ghanaian young lady who was travelling to South Africa on November 4, 2014, for her graduate studies.

The report was that she was bullied by officials of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Kotoka International Airport, after which they managed to extort all the US$150 she had on her.

This happened because the GIS officials realised that the young lady was travelling out of the country for the very first time and saw her as an easy prey.

The official behind the counter refused to stamp her passport unless she paid. Being uninformed and naive, she pleaded with this official, but he would not budge, insisting he wouldn't stamp the passport until she had paid him.

Scared and confused, the poor girl was pushed into the small room in the right corner of the immigration processing area of the airport. Anyone who has ever travelled out of Ghana knows this area.

“While there, they asked her to empty her handbag, and she did. They then snatched the only money she had on her; US$150; the only cash her family could raise for her to go to school, and they took it from her”, the report said.

It is the desire of the paper that, now that Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, President of the Ghana Baptist Convention has added his voice to this issue in the presence of the Second Lady, the government would set up a committee to go into it and rid the airport of such miscreants.

It must be placed on record that not only is the issue an embarrassment to our dear country, which prides itself as the Gate-way to West Africa.

A stitch in time saves nine!