The four current and former Members of Parliament barred from entering the UK for indulging in visa fraud will be stripped of their Diplomatic Passports if found culpable.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, said her outfit was only waiting for Parliament’s investigations before taking any definite action on the matter.
The alleged visa fraud came to the fore after the sighting of a confidential letter the British High Commission in Ghana wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, accusing the MPs of facilitating the entry of some of their supposed relatives to the UK using their Diplomatic Passports.
The letter cited Richard Acheampong, MP for Bia East in the Western Region; Joseph Benhazin Dahah, MP for Asutifi North in the Brong Ahafo region; Johnson Kwaku Adu, MP for Ahafo Ano South West in the Ashanti Region and George Boakye, former MP for Asunafo South in the Brong Ahafo.
Speaking to Citi News’ Franklin Badu Jr, Madam Ayorkor Botchway said the allegations were very serious and “if it indeed it happened, we will do what we have to do concerning this.”
She explained that her Ministry was only waiting on the Speaker of Parliament because he was the one petitioned by the British High Commission, and also “Members of Parliament answer to the Speaker.”
“I will wait for Mr. Speaker to deal with the matter and I will act on the findings. Just as a Minister has the discretion to issue a Diplomatic Passport, so does the Minister have the discretion to withdraw a passport. So that can be done if indeed it is found that the persons in question used the passport to do something that shouldn’t have been done.”
Madam Ayorkor Botchway also pledged to investigate the matter pending the conclusion of Parliament’s inquiry, and noted further that her ministry will ensure some changes to prevent similar occurrences.
“As a ministry, we are doing what we need to do and that is looking at the law again and making sure we do something in terms of amendments to ensure that these things don’t happen again.”
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
