Kwesi Pratt Jr, the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper
The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr, has weighed in on the crackdown on Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC in the USA by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While applauding the move intended to sanitise the diplomatic mission installation, he cautioned that the ministry could have been more discreet in their approach.
Speaking on Metro TV on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Pratt underscored the importance of safeguarding the integrity of the Ghana’s High Commissions and embassies around the world.
He cited a scenario where a media house opened phone lines to solicit views from Ghanaians in the diaspora on the matter.
He described the process as being not just alarming but detrimental to Ghana’s missions.
“The things they were saying were horrible. I want to believe that the Ghanaians who were calling were sincere and they spoke the truth. But what is the effect of that on the ability of our missions to represent the country in other parts of the world?
“If we create an impression that our High Commission and our embassies are a den of crooks and a group of highway men and women, we do irreparable damage to the reputation their capacity to represent us properly,” he said.
He noted that the brouhaha surrounding the scandal at the Washington DC does not only taint the image of our missions in foreign jurisdictions but weaken their influence to represent the country to the global community.
“First of all, one has to make the point that His Excellency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has earned a huge reputation, as an anti-corruption campaigner and there’s no doubt at all about that.
“Having said that I think the point has to be made that many diplomatic missions have had problems in many countries, not just in Ghana. A couple of years ago. I think about two years ago, South Africa suspended the issuance of visas from their High Commission here. No noise was made about it. We (those of us who travel to South Africa a lot) just noticed that the process had become slow and it went by unexplained.
“It took a long time for us to realise that there was a problem with the issuance of visas from the South African High Commission here. They kept it under wraps. Not just that I have known at least, on one occasion, that a British diplomat had been recalled from Ghana,” he said.
He explained that several missions in Ghana and elsewhere have had problems but it was dealt with quietly.
“There must be a reason for that. It seems to me that the reason is that given the role played by High Commissioner and its importance, they must be viewed with a certain decorous frame,” he said.
He stressed that the integrity of Ghanaian embassies have been bruised by this development, a situation he finds worrying.
Background
A local staff at the Ghanaian embassy in Washington DC in the USA, identified as Fred Kwarteng, was dismissed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, for engaging in alleged corrupt practices.
In a statement on May 26, 2025, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, he announced that Fred Kwarteng, a local staff recruited in 2017 to work at the embassy had reportedly illegally diverted visa and passport applicants into his privately owned company called Ghana Travel Consultants.
According to Ablakwa, Kwarteng upon interrogation admitted to using his private company to charge extra fees for multiple services without the knowledge of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and additionally kept the entire revenue generated in his private account.
“Mr Kwarteng was a local staff recruited on August 11, 2017 to work in the embassy’s IT department. According to findings and his own admission, he created an unauthorised link on the embassy’s website which diverted visa and passport applicants to his company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC) where he charged extra for multiple services on the blind side of the ministry and kept the entire proceeds in his private account,” the minister indicated on Monday, May 26, 2025.
The fees charged by Kwarteng were not approved by either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Parliament, thereby constituting a violation of the Fees and Charges Act.
“His illegal extra charges which were not approved by the ministry and parliament as required under the Fees and Charges Act ranges from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant. The Investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least 5 years,” the statement added.
Ablakwa added that, in addition to the individual’s dismissal, the matter has been referred to the Attorney General for further punitive action.
VPO/MA
Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of the story of Fort William, where children were sold in exchange for kitchenware, others, below: