Ablakwa’s $38.2m visa allegation grossly misleading – Foreign Affairs Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has strongly denied allegations of a $38.2 million agreement with Access Services Ghana Limited.

This follows claims by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, who alleged that the Ministry had signed a dubious contract with Access Services Ghana Limited for managing visa applications for diplomatic missions abroad.

Ablakwa asserted that the company has no track record and that the contract was awarded without approval from the Public Procurement Authority, raising concerns about value for money. He also accused the Ministry of failing to secure parliamentary approval.

In a rejoinder issued on Friday, October 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration described the allegations as “largely incorrect and calculated to deliberately mislead the public.”

“The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has been drawn to online publications by Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, on the above-mentioned subject.

“The article purported to give details of an agreement between the Ministry and Access Services Ghana Limited (Access). The Ministry wishes to put across that the facts as purported in the said article are largely incorrect and calculated to deliberately mislead the public on the intent of the Ministry.”

The Ministry also described as grossly misleading claims that Access Citizens would be raking in about US$ 38.2 million between now and September 2028 while Ghana’s Foreign Ministry struggles to get a measly US$ 2 million out of that.

“The claim by Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that per his “conservative financial analysis Access Citizens would be raking about US$ 38.2 million between now and September 2028 while Ghana’s Foreign Ministry struggles to get a measly US$ 2 million out of that” is grossly misleading.”

The Ministry explained that the agreement allows Access Services Ghana Limited to provide premium front-end visa application services using its facilities and personnel, for an agreed fee.

“The agreement with Access allows for the provision of premium front-end visa application services by the company with its own facilities and personnel at an agreed fee to the user of their service, varying from $45, $55, and €55 depending on the country, with the Missions involved receiving £7, $7, and €7 out of these fees in the respective currency zones.

“Thus, the amount Access pays to Ghana’s Missions abroad provides the Missions with an additional stream of revenue. This is contrary to the view held by Hon. Ablakwa that what Access pays to these Missions constitutes their only source of funds.”

The Ministry clarified that the services provided by Access Services Ghana Limited are comparable to those offered by companies like VFS Global and TLSContact to foreign embassies in Ghana, which are utilized by Ghanaians seeking to travel abroad.

It added that the arrangement with Access aligns with global standards for visa application processing, where third-party visa application centres handle the receipt of applications and the capturing of biometric data.