All employees of Ghana’s mission in Washington, DC, have been recalled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, effective immediately, due to suspected fraud that was discovered there.
In order to collect visa and other service fees owed to the embassy, several officers of Ghana’s embassy in the USA were accused of opening a bank account that was separate from the state accounts.
A fresh group of ministry employees would be sent to take over the embassy’s functions, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa told the Daily Graphic on Sunday.
The ministry uncovered the corrupt activities after the minister set up a committee to audit the entire operations of the country’s mission in Washington, DC.
He stated that the ministry would send the committee’s report to the Attorney General’s Office for additional action.
According to Mr. Ablakwa, a ministry delegation from Accra met with the head of mission and other stakeholders in Washington, DC, after the public reported alleged fraudulent activities at the embassy.
According to him, the delegation was tasked with carrying out an audit to better understand the mission’s current practices, assess compliance with ministry directives, and address concerns pertaining to IT infrastructure, procurement practices, compliance, legal and financial considerations, and procurement practices.
According to Mr. Ablakwa, the mission stated that it was presently processing online visa applications more easily by utilizing an electronic platform called eCIMS.
However, there were many instances of applicants being charged twice or more after the new platform was integrated, which led to a large number of refund claims.
“The recurring issues created administrative inefficiencies, placed pressure on consular staff, and raised concerns regarding the user experience and the mission’s operational image,” the minister explained.
The mission used a different platform, Clover, for walk-in (in-person) purchases and switched to Authorize.net for online transactions in order to resolve the issues and stabilize the payment process.
The mission implemented a fixed $7 merchant fee for all online applications in order to recoup the expenses related to digital payment processing platforms.
However, starting in February of this year, a reduced cost of $5 was set in response to the Auditor-General’s conclusion that the fee was excessive.
He emphasized the embassy’s performance during COVID-19 and stated that the mission implemented a fully online mailing system for passport and visa dispatch, which is run by Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), a third-party service.
Although it was not required, almost 99 percent of applicants used the courier service, according to Mr. Ablakwa, who also stated that applicants were given delivery alternatives under that agreement.
Nevertheless, it was noted that applicants were not provided with the option to send in their prepaid return postal envelopes, so shifting the embassy’s service to a private company.
Source: newsthemegh.com