Government Moves to Prevent Another Evacuation of Ghanaians

The Government is developing measures to prevent Ghanaians from being exposed to conditions that could require another mass evacuation following recent interventions to bring citizens home from South Africa.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the government had identified gaps in the monitoring of Ghanaians travelling abroad and was working with relevant institutions to address them.

He said a framework was being developed in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior to ensure greater scrutiny of people leaving Ghana, particularly those travelling in groups.

The Minister made this known at a media briefing in Accra on Monday, following the completion of the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa.

He said the Government could no longer take it for granted that the possession of a visa should automatically lead to a traveller being cleared to leave the country.

“Once you have a visa, you should be processed and allowed to leave the jurisdiction,” Mr Ablakwa said, explaining that government had identified gaps that needed to be addressed.

He said the new approach would pay particular attention to people travelling in groups, given the risks associated with organised recruitment and overseas employment arrangements.

The Minister also disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was intensifying negotiations with Gulf countries to establish labour mobility agreements that would provide greater protection for Ghanaians seeking employment abroad.

He said Ghana had already signed labour mobility agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar, while negotiations were ongoing with Saudi Arabia.

According to him, the agreements were intended to regularise employment arrangements and help protect Ghanaian workers, many of whom travel to Gulf countries to work as domestic staff and later encounter deplorable working conditions.

Mr Ablakwa said the Ministry was also working with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to publish a list of certified and licensed recruitment agencies.

He urged Ghanaians seeking overseas employment to verify whether the agency recruiting them was recognised by government before making travel arrangements.

He said the list had also been shared with Ghana’s international partners so that receiving countries could identify and reject recruitment agencies that were not licensed or certified.

The Minister further urged Ghanaians to make use of the Ministry’s hotlines, email platforms and diplomatic missions to verify travel and employment opportunities.

He said Ghana’s diplomatic missions had the capacity to conduct due diligence on organisations and opportunities abroad and provide citizens with appropriate travel advice.

Mr Ablakwa said the Ministry would also continue to publish travel advisories through its websites, social media platforms and other communication channels.

He encouraged Ghanaians to take such advisories seriously and consult the Ministry or Ghana’s missions abroad whenever they were uncertain about the credibility of a travel opportunity.

Joyce Adwoa Animia Ocran, ISD