The attention of Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) has been drawn to 2 audio recordings which were posted on the Ghanaian Community Germany WhatsApp platform on Saturday August 26, 2017 at 12:12 hours and 15:20 hours respectively. The first audio recording is a call-in radio interview between Mr. Amoh a radio presenter and Mr. Alex Okai-Anane, president of Ghana Union Stuttgart.
The second audio recording is also an interview between Mr. Amoh Badu Kaakyire and Nana Adu Gyamfi Bosanfu, vice-president of Ghana Union Stuttgart. UGAG distances itself from the contents of the 2 audio recordings. We wish also to state categorically that the Ghanaian Community Germany WhatsApp platform created on May 30, 2016 is not the official platform of UGAG. The 1st audio recording/interview granted by Mr. Alex Okai-Anane was to update passport applicants living in the Stuttgart Area and who were waiting to have their biometric data captured by the staff of the Ghana Embassy in normal turn.
The information provided in the audio recording by Mr. OkaiAnane however created the impression that the Ghana Embassy Mobile Biometric Data Capture Team was deliberately avoiding to travel to Stuttgart to serve the applicants. The information was very unfortunate and was not correct. The fact is that, Ghana Union Mannheim & Ludwigshafen e.V., Ghana Union Düsseldorf and Ghana Union Stuttgart e.V. expressed the interest to host the first mobile biometric data captures exercise in their areas at the telephone conference.
This was discussed at a UGAG-NEC and Local Presidents Telephone Conference held on March 22, 2017. Mr. Alex Okai-Anane was part of this telephone conference. Participants at the telephone conference decided as follows; (a) the Ghana Embassy is to pay the expenses of the hall to be rented, (b) to cater for the refreshments of the exercise, and (c) to provide the host association with the personal information of all the applicants who would be captured in the host Area. The decision taken was communicated to the Ghana Embassy by the UGAG president, Mr. William Nketia. The demands presented by UGAG were declined. Other local associations and institutions including Ghana Union Freiburg e.V., GHSAG e.V. in Saarbrucken and a Travel Agency in Dusseldorf also expressed interest in hosting the Ghana Embassy mobile biometric data capture exercise in their Areas. All the abovementioned associations separately began negotiations with the Ghana Embassy.
It is also true that the Head of Consular Section contacted Mr. Okai-Anane around early April 2017 and asked him to compile the list of passport applicants in the Stuttgart Area to have their biometric data captured at a date to be decided. The plan of the Ghana Embassy was to commence with the mobile biometric data capture exercise serving Areas beginning from Southern Germany and continuing northwards. It is interesting to note that the Ghana Embassy during the negotiations with Ghana Union Stuttgart e.V. informed Mr. Okai-Anane through an email sent by the consular section and dated Wednesday June 21, 2017.
The purpose of the email was to announce the timeframe the Ghana Embassy mobile biometric data capture Team could travel down to Stuttgart for the exercise. The subject of the email is; “LIST OF PASSPORT APPLICANTS IN STUTTGART, GERMANY” The email reads as follows; “Dear Mr. Alex Okai-Anane, The Embassy wishes to inform you that presently the section is engaged until mid to the end of September 2017. The Head of Consular section will discuss with you further on the matter in due time. Thank you”. Ghana Union Stuttgart e.V. according to the above email was expected to continue with the negotiations with the Ghana Embassy in fixing a tentative date in September 2017 for the exercise.
Looking at the information/email above, readers can now judge for themselves if the Ghana Embassy was deliberately avoiding traveling down to Stuttgart to serve the online passport applicants. On the 2nd audio recording/interview granted by Nana Adu Gyamfi Bosanfo, we find the content very offensive and unfair to the Ghana Embassy. We all acknowledge the problems that were associated with the issue/shortage of passport books in the years 2015 & 2016.
The problem was not only a Ghana Embassy, Berlin problem but a problem with all other Ghana Foreign Missions including homeland Ghana. We also acknowledge and share the concerns of the many passport applicants in the Stuttgart Area who were waiting to have their biometric data captured. What is most worrying to many Ghanaians was the unpleasant language used by Nana Adu Gyamfi Bosanfo to attack the Ghana Embassy especially Minister Dr. Samuel Adotey Anum in person. Nana Bosanfo did however not provide any proof to substantiate his allegations. Nana Bosanfo also attempted in his interview to mention the names of past Ghana Ambassadors and to highlight their achievements. Neither did he indicate the individual achievements of the past Ambassadors nor did he explain the yardstick he was using to measure their achievement.
Nana Bosanfo surprisingly singled out immediate past Ambassador H.E. Nana Akua Sena Dansua as the one who according to him did not live up to expectation because of the presence of Minister Dr. Samuel Adotey Anum at the Embassy. This assertion is very unfortunate and without any starting point. It should be put on record, that it was during the tenure of H.E. Akua Sena Dansua that the mobile biometric data capture exercise was initiated.
The idea of the exercise was communicated to UGAG by Minister Dr. Samuel Adotey Anum during the UGAG 3-day conference held in Bremen in November 2015. It was also during the tenure of H.E. Akua Sena Dansua that granted Ghanaians with expired passports to have them extended for another year per rubber-stamping free-of-charge. We must all acknowledge the fact that the ongoing mobile biometric data capture exercise by the Ghana Embassy is a dispensation and not a right.
These and many more opportunities all happened during the tenure of H.E. Akua Sena Dansua. As we’ve already mentioned, readers can best judge for themselves. Many of the UGAG local associations do really appreciate the services the Ghana Embassy, Berlin is offering to Ghanaians in Germany.
We are respectfully expecting Mr. Alex Okai-Anane and Nana Adu Gyamfi Bosanfo to put the records straight and to retract the information posted on the Ghana Community Germany WhatsApp platform. They should subsequently apologise to the Ghana Embassy, Berlin and to Minister Dr. Samuel Adotey Anum for the inconvenience caused.
Akwasi Opoku Edusei
UGAG Gen. Sec.
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