A former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Charles Owiredu, is raising doubts about whether Ghana’s latest communiqué to all embassies and high commissions regarding visa applications will be acknowledged.

In a statement released to the media, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had sent an official communiqué urging all embassies and high commissions in Ghana to implement appropriate and humane conditions at their missions.

According to the ministry, the move is part of remedial measures in response to numerous public complaints about the treatment of Ghanaian citizens when visiting foreign missions in Ghana for visa applications.

“The complaints cover issues such as, not providing conducive waiting areas, non-availability of emergency services, long waiting times for appointment dates as well as challenges in using visa application websites”.

The statement indicated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to take steps to ensure that embassies and high commissions comply with the directives outlined in the Note Verbale, while acknowledging that embassies and high commissions reserve the right to determine who they issue visas to.

However, commenting on the development, former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Charles Owuridu, raised concerns that Ghana’s communiqué to the embassies may be easily disregarded.

Although the former High Commissioner to South Africa, who now serves as Member of Parliament for Abirem, conceded that challenges such as long queues and other inhumane treatment exist at some visa application centers, he argued that a Note Verbale alone may not be enough to solve the problem.

“So our strategy (Former administration) was engagement because if you look at what the minister just issued, issuing a note verbal doesn't solve this challenge because like we all know the Vienna Convention protects embassies and then consular activities. They'll just put it somewhere. Like I said earlier, the best approach, the best strategy to me was to have gotten the minister to engage them. So a matter of engagement to me would have solved,” he said.

At least six out of ten Ghanaians have expressed a desire to travel abroad in search of better opportunities, according to the 2024 Afrobarometer report. The report indicates that most of these individuals are considering leaving the country primarily to improve their economic circumstances.

This growing trend has led to a surge in demand for travel agencies and visa application centers, which have been focusing more on processing inflows rather than ensuring quality service delivery. In some extreme cases, unsuspecting applicants are taken advantage of, with little or no regard for their genuine intention to travel legally.

However, the latest directive from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is seen as the first step in a series of planned government interventions aimed at sanitizing the sector and ensuring fair treatment for applicants.