Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, has announced that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, will be summoned to explain the brief closure of Ghana's embassy in Washington, DC in Parliament.

She describes the action taken by the foreign minister as reckless and diplomatically costly, considering that he failed to consult parliament.

During a media briefing by both caucuses in Parliament on issues programmed to be considered on the floor of the House at the Second Meeting of the First Session of the 9th Parliament of the Fourth Republic on May 28, Honorable Patricia said:

"...the Minority Caucus will initiate efforts to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to explain his actions regarding the closure of the Embassy."

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced the temporary closure of Ghana's Embassy in Washington DC earlier this week.

The action followed a corruption scandal discovered by the minister involving one Mr. Fred Kwarteng, a local staff member recruited on August 11, 2017, to work in the embassy’s IT department.

Honourable Ablakwa revealed that according to findings and Mr Kwarteng's admission, he created an unauthorized 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.

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," Mr Ablakwa revealed.

Mr Fred Kwarteng has been fired, and his conduct has been reported to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes.

The Auditor-General has been invited to conduct forensic examination of all transactions and to determine the total cost of this fraudulent scheme.

Also, all Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted to the Washington embassy have been recalled home with immediate effect.

The embassy’s IT department has been promptly dissolved, and all locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended.

The Foreign Minister apologised for "any inconvenience these radical measures may cause visa and passport applicants".

Ghana's Embassy in Washington DC will be reopened today, May 29, as announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A team of seasoned diplomats led by an astute diplomat has been tasked to run the mission.Meanwhile, the Majority Caucus has backed the sector minister for his decision to close the embassy in question.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, Hon. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, who engaged the media, noted that the closure was a necessary step to address “frontline activities and corrupt practices."

“The reasons for which the closure became necessary are known to all of us. The Minister has followed information from the Embassy concerning frontline activities, corrupt practices, and made that decision to close the Embassy to ensure that we reset activities… to the highest professional levels," he said.