Gov’t moves to tighten checks on Ghanaians travelling abroad — Ablakwa

The government is putting measures in place to strengthen checks on Ghanaians travelling abroad in an effort to prevent citizens from being exposed to circumstances that could trigger another mass evacuation.

The initiative follows the recent repatriation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa, with the government identifying weaknesses in the monitoring of citizens travelling outside the country.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the government was working with relevant institutions, particularly the Ministry of the Interior, to address the gaps and improve scrutiny of travellers leaving Ghana.

He said a new framework was being developed to subject travellers to greater checks, with particular attention to people travelling in groups.

Mr Ablakwa disclosed this at a media briefing in Accra on Monday following the completion of the South Africa evacuation exercise.

He said the government could no longer rely solely on the possession of a valid visa as sufficient grounds for clearing a traveller to leave the country.

“Once you have a visa, you should be processed and allowed to leave the jurisdiction,” Mr Ablakwa said, explaining that the government had identified gaps in the existing system that required attention.

He said the proposed measures would focus especially on group travel because of the risks associated with organised recruitment schemes and overseas employment arrangements.

Labour Agreements
The Foreign Affairs Minister also disclosed that Ghana was intensifying discussions with Gulf countries to establish labour mobility agreements aimed at providing stronger protection for Ghanaians seeking employment abroad.

He said Ghana had already signed labour mobility agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar, while negotiations with Saudi Arabia were ongoing.

According to him, the agreements were intended to formalise employment arrangements and provide greater protection for Ghanaian workers travelling to the Gulf, particularly those employed as domestic workers who sometimes end up in deplorable working conditions.

Recruitment Agencies
Mr Ablakwa said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was collaborating with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to publish a list of certified and licensed recruitment agencies.

He advised Ghanaians seeking jobs abroad to verify the credentials of recruitment agencies before making travel arrangements.

The Minister said the list had also been shared with Ghana’s international partners to enable destination countries to identify and reject agencies that were operating without the required certification or licence.

He further encouraged prospective travellers to use the Ministry’s hotlines, email platforms and diplomatic missions to verify the legitimacy of travel and employment opportunities.

According to him, Ghanaian diplomatic missions have the capacity to conduct due diligence on organisations and employment opportunities abroad and provide citizens with appropriate guidance before they travel.

Mr Ablakwa said the Ministry would continue to issue travel advisories through its websites, social media platforms and other communication channels.

He urged Ghanaians to pay attention to such advisories and consult the Ministry or Ghana’s diplomatic missions whenever they were uncertain about the credibility of an overseas travel or employment opportunity.