Pius Enam Hadzide, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Asugyaman in the Eastern Region, has dismissed the exoneration issued by the corrupt Akufo-Addo government regarding his involvement in a visa racketeering scheme during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Despite denying allegations in 2018 that he abused his position as Deputy Sports Minister to falsify visas and documents for party affiliates to pose as members of the Ghana team at the Commonwealth Games, he recently boasted of sending people to Australia.
During a campaign event, he proudly recounted his exploits as a visa racketeer and pledged to engage in similar illicit activities to assist the youth of Asuogyaman to travel to the 2026 World Cup.
“Nananom, did you know that it takes 18 hours to travel from Ghana to Australia? Yet, I was able to assist some individuals in making this journey. The 2026 World Cup will be held in America, which is just a 7-hour flight from Ghana.
If you, Nananom, desire for your children to travel to America to work and send money back home, or if you are a young person eager to explore opportunities abroad, I promise to support you when I become MP,” he stated in Twi.
He then criticized his opponent for failing to capitalize on the opportunity to smuggle people into other countries, urging constituents to vote for him as their Member of Parliament if they wished to travel abroad.
“Unlike my opponent who has had the chance but failed to assist the youth, I will facilitate travel opportunities for all interested young people to destinations like Germany, America, UK, France, and Canada.
So, I kindly ask for your support in the election, and I will ensure that I help you achieve your dreams of traveling abroad,” he assured.
This audacious promise places Pius Hadzide at the center of the scandalous Australia visa racketeering scheme that brought disgrace upon Ghana on the international stage.
Essentially, Pius Hadzide, a criminal implicated in visa fraud and impersonation on a national level, continues to evade deserved prosecution.
As Deputy Minister of Sports at the time, Hadzide faced accusations of tarnishing Ghana’s participation in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia through visa fraud that led to the unlawful entry of approximately 60 individuals into Australia.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo suspended him from the sports portfolio, along with the acting Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the NSA board chairman, pending CID investigations. Despite being exonerated by the CID, he was reassigned as Deputy Information Minister.
It was revealed that Hadzide orchestrated the inclusion of several Ghanaians pretending to be journalists in the accreditation list for the Commonwealth Games, allowing them to abscond and become illegal immigrants in Australia.
The CID report disputed claims of corruption involving Hadzide and cited a lack of evidence to substantiate the allegations.
However, Hadzide’s recent acknowledgment of his role in facilitating travel to the Australia Commonwealth Games and his intent to repeat such actions during the 2026 World Cup in the USA contradicts the previous CID findings.