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The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced a sweeping reform agenda aimed at restoring professionalism, accountability, and responsiveness across Ghana’s diplomatic missions, with special attention to the embassy in Washington, D.C.
In a Facebook post, the Foreign Minister stated that his outfit has “surgically uprooted the canker of corruption” at the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C., following years of public dissatisfaction with poor consular services and unprofessional conduct at several missions abroad.
Acknowledging widespread concerns, Hon. Ablakwa wrote, “All your justified grievances about the lack of responsiveness and discourteous conduct at some of Ghana’s diplomatic missions abroad have been duly noted.” He also referenced a viral article by Professor Kojo Dei, who detailed his disappointing experiences at two Ghanaian missions, vowing that such misconduct would not be tolerated under his leadership.
The minister emphasized that while many of Ghana’s foreign missions uphold high standards of service and professionalism, a few have consistently failed to meet expectations. Despite these problems predating his tenure, he accepted full responsibility and pledged decisive action in line with President Mahama’s “RESET Agenda.”
As part of the reform package, six major policy interventions have been introduced:
1. A new code of conduct to govern engagement with the public at missions.
2. Phone systems are being reconfigured to handle multiple calls simultaneously.
3. All official calls will now be recorded and reviewed to monitor professionalism.
4. Embassies will undergo regular verification checks to ensure calls are answered.
5. Responsiveness and accessibility are now part of KPIs for ambassadorial appointments.
6. Sanctions will be applied to officials who fall short of expected standards.
Providing updates on the situation in Washington, D.C., Hon. Ablakwa said that far-reaching changes are being implemented at the embassy. “Since the re-opening, a total of 2,943 visas have been issued. I have been there to directly supervise operations and ensure the backlog of visa applications are cleared,” he revealed.
He further directed the new team of diplomats in Washington to urgently implement the new policies aimed at improving responsiveness and service delivery.
The minister called on Ghanaians to have confidence in the government’s reset agenda, which he described as a bold initiative to combat corruption, eliminate conflict of interest, protect applicants from exploitation, and restore the image of Ghana’s foreign service.
“The Mahama administration is deeply committed to a new reset era of accountable public service with uncompromisingly high standards of professionalism, transparency and patriotism,” he concluded.
