Ranking Member on Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has urged government to reject the travel restiction imposed on travelers from Ghana by the UAE.

Mr. Ablakwa in a Facebook post on Thursday, stated that the basis of the restriction is unscientific and inhumane.

This is in reaction to a directive by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MoFARI) to the effect that all airlines that ply the Accra-Dubai routes should ensure that travelers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Accra, show proof of a negative Covid-19 test result 24-hours before the scheduled departure time.

According to the MoFARI in a press statement, the measure is to “convince the UAE government to reconsider its decision and lift the travel restriction on travelers from Ghana to UAE.”

Mr Ablakwa asserted that government has succumbed to international pressure and left Ghanaians to harassment and cruel extortion.

He said the Akufo-Addo-led government should have called the bluff of UAE authorities and stood up for Ghanaians.

"Government’s latest circular on the travel restrictions imposed on Ghana by the UAE has all the trappings of a grotesque betrayal of the Ghanaian people.

Instead of the Akufo-Addo-led government calling the bluff of UAE authorities and standing up for the Ghanaian people who elected him, he has opted to shamefully throw Ghanaians to the wolves. Where is our dignity and sovereignty?" he quizzed.

The North Tongu MP described the instruction as unscientific and inhumane. Thus, must be rejected by government.

"Why accept a PCR test 24 hours before flight? Why impose a 6-hour test prior to flying? Where did they learn this from? Which sovereign country in the world is forced by another country to subject the former’s citizens to this humiliation, harassment and cruel extortion before flights? This is totally unscientific and inhumane.

We must rise and reject these measures outrightly. If a government cannot stop groveling before foreign powers and stand up for its citizens then that government is not worth its mandate."

He added: "Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Yaa Asantewaa, Philip Gbeho, Ndewura Jakpa, Mensah Sarbah, Nii Kwabena Bonne III and all those celebrated forebears who defended the dignity of the African must be turning in their graves."

Per the Ministry's statement, five laboratories have been approved to take such tests. They are; Leding, Frontiers, Airport Clinic, Akai House and MDS Lancet laboratory.

The result must be obtained within 24 hours before the departure and only hard copies of such negative results with barcodes for verification would be accepted.

For Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, the selection of the laboratories is a "clear case of naked cronyism and private profiteering from Covid-19."

He questioned government over the absence of Noguchi and the Public Reference Lab in the list of approved labs.

According to him, Noguchi and the Public Reference Lab are the foremost institutions for credible and trusted PCR tests in this country.