Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., is reported to have become highly efficient following its reopening after a temporary shutdown prompted by a major visa fraud scandal. The mission is already showing promising results.
According to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the embassy issued over 800 visas on its first day of resumed operations.
In a Facebook post last Friday, the Minister commended the newly deployed diplomatic team for its “efficiency, professionalism and integrity”, adding that the progress is part of a broader reset agenda aimed at cleaning up Ghana’s diplomatic missions.
Mr Ablakwa praised the team’s performance on their first day, revealing that the embassy had processed and issued more than 800 visas in a single day. He attributed the smooth operation to reforms and systems upgrades implemented during the recent institutional overhaul.
“From the briefing I have received, our reopened embassy in Washington, D.C., issued over 800 visas on the first day of resumption,” he said. “I expect this level of efficiency, professionalism and integrity to continue.”
Describing the relaunch as part of a broader “patriotic consequential reset agenda”, Mr Ablakwa rejected suggestions that the reforms were driven by political patronage. “This cannot be reduced to ‘jobs for the boys’,” he insisted.
“I expect this level of efficiency, professionalism and integrity to continue,” he reiterated. “Let me commend our fresh team of seasoned diplomats for the great job so far in implementing our systems overhaul and institutional fumigation.”
Addressing speculation about political recruitment at the embassy, Mr Ablakwa dismissed claims that new personnel had been appointed to replace those implicated in the scandal.
“Contrary to false and baseless claims, there have been no new recruitments … we have an adequate stock of distinguished and astute diplomats to lead ongoing reforms,” he noted.
He stressed that the current clean-up exercise must not be trivialised as “jobs for the boys”, emphasising that it forms part of a “patriotic consequential reset agenda” to restore Ghana’s image abroad.
The Minister also revealed that a previously undisclosed 2023 agreement between Fred Kwarteng and a senior official at the Washington mission has been nullified.
Describing the agreement as “unauthorised, opaque and illegal”, Mr Ablakwa said it would no longer be recognised, and added that further details, including information on frozen accounts and other remedial actions, would be presented to Parliament in the coming week.
The embassy was closed on 26 May 2025 following a major visa racketeering scandal involving a locally recruited staff member, Fred Kwarteng. An internal investigation revealed that Kwarteng had created an unauthorised portal which redirected passport and visa applicants to his private company, Ghana Travel Consultants.
Applicants were reportedly charged between $30 and $60 in unapproved fees, with the funds paid directly into Kwarteng’s personal account. The racket is believed to have gone undetected for over five years.
In response to the scandal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled all ministry staff from the mission, suspended all local personnel, dissolved the IT department, and dispatched a new team of diplomats to implement urgent reforms.
The Minister reiterated that the 2023 agreement between Mr Kwarteng and a senior embassy official had been annulled and would not be recognised.
“More on this — including details about frozen accounts and other remedial actions — will be presented in greater detail when I address Parliament next week,” he stated.
The embassy was temporarily shut down earlier this year after revelations of an IT-related fraud scheme in which Mr Kwarteng allegedly diverted visa application traffic to a private platform linked to his company.
He was subsequently dismissed, and the embassy’s IT department was dissolved, actions that triggered calls for reform from the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr Ablakwa further commended the current diplomatic staff for implementing what he described as a “systems overhaul and institutional fumigation”.
“This is a testament to the fact that Ghanaian diplomats excel when provided with the right ecosystem and leadership,” the Minister concluded.
