Atik Mohammed, General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), has asked British High Commissioner Jon Benjamin to comport himself as a diplomat.
Speaking on his conduct since taking office, Atik Mohammed expressed disappointment in the British High Commissioner who he claims has undermined his office by making seemingly unnecessary remarks about happenings in the country.
Atik Mohammed was commenting on the recent news regarding some Members of Parliament who have been barred from entering the United Kingdom (UK) over suspicions of Visa racketeering.
The British government has blacklisted three current serving MPs and a former MP from making an entry into the UK.
A “confidential letter” the British High Commission in Ghana addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Mike Oquaye and sighted by Peacefmonline.com accused the MPs of “Visa fraud”.
The MPs are said to have facilitated the entry of some of their relatives to the UK using their diplomatic passports and left them to live there illegally.
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 region.
“The British High Commission considers the actions outlined above to be completely unacceptable. In some cases, these behaviours may arguably be criminal in nature. As already outlined, administrative measures have been taken to ensure that the Honourable members mentioned here will most likely not be granted visas for the UK within the next 10 years. I should add that the Party affiliation of these MPs is, in this context, irrelevant to us: we simply state the facts as we have discovered them. We are continuing to investigate whether any other current or former MPs have engaged in similar behaviour and will inform you, if we discover any further such cases”, the letter read.
Atik Mohammed, contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo, wondered how a “confidential letter” could find its way into the public domain.
Suspecting Mr. Benjamin to have made the letter public, Atik Mohammed advised the British High Commissioner to stop bringing his office into disrepute.
“He’s overdoing his job. He’s gone beyond the space permissible by his work. As High Commissioner, there are some things he shouldn’t engage in, but he does it. He wades into our local politics which he shouldn’t do. When it comes to entertainment, he’s there. On Spiritual matters, he’s there. He’s everywhere. It doesn’t present you as a diplomat worth your name…Giving the past attitude and conduct of this man, I’m inclined to suspect that he knows something about it (leakage of letter). And it further undermines him as a diplomatic person representing a country like the UK,” Atik stated.
He however called on the Speaker of Parliament and the entire House to address the scandals that have hit the legislative body in order to uphold the integrity of the House.
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