I sent e-mails to two prominent journalists to do a story about the frustrations of the Ghanaian passport holder in travelling within Africa and the world. I thought they would tell my story for me. I have waited for weeks but I have not received even the courtesy of acknowledgement of mail. Remembering the citizen and not spectator call by our strong-willed President, I thought I should write my own story and see if someone may listen and act on it sooner on behalf of the hundreds of Ghanaians who may be going through comparable situation.
I am a citizen of Ghana. I am resident in Ghana. I work as an Information Security Consultant (Auditor) for a cyber security audit firm. I am required to travel to clients of my firm in different African and Middle East (MEA) countries. On the hind sight, my job is supposed to be fun because it involves travelling to different countries and cultures. Unfortunately, I travel on a Ghanaian passport.
Until I started working in my new role, I did not know that the Ghanaian passport is one of the weakest passports in the world. The frustration of obtaining visas on short notice, getting multiple entry visa to countries within Africa, or shuttling between countries without returning home to Ghana is real. My dear reader, the frustration is so real. Compared to my colleagues from other countries, my passport is holding me back because I am unable to travel to clients as often as my colleagues.
According to The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2017 report, Ghana’s passport ranks 77th in the world, same as Zimbabwe. A lot of countries tie in the rankings so our real position is about 125th in the world. I was so surprised when I opened on Wikipedia the Visa Requirements of Ghanaian passport. Ghana’s passport can travel to only 58 out of 199 countries in the world without obtaining visa from the country’s consulate before the travel.
Countries like South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Zambia and a host of other countries all beat Ghana in world passport rankings according to Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index. Germany’s passport can travel to 178 out of 199 countries without Visa, South African passport can travel to 98 countries without Visa, a Ghanaian passport Holder can only travel to 58 countries without Visa.
How can the government make it possible and easier for a Ghanaian passport holder to visit certain countries in Africa without all these restrictions? What does it take to sign Visa-on-Arrival agreements with some of these African countries? Is it not time to raise these issues for public discourse? For example, visiting Botswana with a Ghanaian passport requires a Ghanaian to obtain visa in the Botswana Embassy in Nigeria through a Consulate in Accra. Can Ghana sign a deal with Botswana such that visa on arrival becomes possible for a Ghanaian once all documentation is in order?
Shouldn’t it be possible for Ghanaians to visit countries like Botswana, South Africa, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco for say 30 days or 90 days and obtain visa on arrival if evidence is established the person will not become a burden to the host country and shall return shortly? I cannot understand why Ghanaian professionals require visas from Ghana to visit the above-mentioned countries when they can clearly demonstrate that they will return after their short professional/vacation visits.
I was shocked to know it is possible to visit Singapore as a Ghanaian and obtain Visa on arrival if all required documentation such as return ticket, hotel bookings, evidence of event you are attending, etc. are verified to be true. How can I visit a country like Singapore and return within 8 days and I cannot do same for Equatorial Guinea or Botswana within my own continent? Isn’t this shameful to our African Politicians? What is this whole fuss and hullabaloo about African Union? In my opinion, the African Union holiday should be cancelled in Ghana as soon as possible.
We should stop the talk and walk the talk to make the Ghanaian Passport holder feel a bit more respected in the African and global community. The other day, I watched a documentary by Ross Kemp called ‘’Libya’s Migrant Hell’’ and got so sad that I could not eat dinner because of the horror Ghanaians and Nigerians are going through in Libya and the desert journey to Europe. There is something wrong with Ghana and we should all resolve to help and make things better in our own country.
I pray the NPP government makes it a target and try and increase the number of countries Ghanaians can visit without visa from the current 58 to at least 80 and seek visa on arrival agreements with certain countries to improve the competitiveness of the Ghanaian Passport. This will be welcome news for Ghanaian professionals who may travel a lot within the African continent.
I am appealing to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and the Tourism Minister to try and improve the credibility of the Ghanaian Passport by leading these negotiations with some of these countries. It should be possible to negotiate with other countries to ensure the Ghanaian Passport Holder can travel to a lot more countries. The aviation and hospitality sectors stand to gain so much if travelling within Africa is eased for the right purposes.
This can be fixed and should be fixed to give more meaning that the NPP government is indeed a more business and entrepreneur friendly one.
By Kwame Ofori-Sarpong
The writer is an information security consultant.