There has been a rush in, the past 48 hours by some former ministers in government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to use their expired diplomatic passports to secure foreign visas to flee the country, ala Owuraku-Amofa’s style (former deputy Communication Minister who fled the country months to the general elections).
Two such ministers according to Mr. Annan Cato, Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have already been reported to the Ministry. He however refused to mention their names and that of the foreign missions when Chronicle reached on the phone yesterday.
“It has been brought to our attention that two ministers went to some diplomatic missions to secure visas with their diplomatic passports. With the end of the past administration these passports were were supposed to have been surrendered to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he stated.
Although the motive behind their desire to leave the shores of the country is yet to crystallize, sources say it is to beat the January 31st deadline after which former ministers are supposed to surrender such passports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Informed sources say they were planning to flee from possible prosecution over looted state funds.
However their gate-away attempt proved only just. Officials of the diplomatic missions umbraged about the apparent illegal action sounded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who after consulting with the government officials directed that the passports be revoked.
“We have advised foreign missions to disregard the passports,” Hon. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Foreign designate told the Chronicle in a telephone interview yesterday.
Diplomatic passports are issued for a particular purpose he said.” Now that their functions are complete they have to return them”.
According to Cato there are clear guidelines, which enjoin persons who travel on diplomatic passports to hand them over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on their return. The passports, he added would then be given to them when they are due to travel. But this has not been done, he said.
As diplomats are wont to do, the Chief Director, tried to play down on the issue suggesting that it was an act of ignorance on the part of the former ministers and was not motivated by mischief.
Culled: Chronicle
