....No Hope for 200 Victims
The hopes of over two hundred Ghanaians who lost close to one million dollars at the Ghana Mission in Tripoli, Libya two years ago, crashed last week when it became evident that government cannot accept responsibility for the stolen monies.
According to officials of the Consular section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the various sums of money allegedly kept by the mission were actually kept by the officials concerned in their private capacities. They contended that since receipts covering the monies did not bear the official seal of the mission government cannot accept responsibility for the loss.
Speaking to the Chronicle in Accra last Monday the officials contended that the Libyan government too cannot pay compensation for the lost money because the currency, which was stolen, is illegal tender in Tripoli.
Chronicle gathered that when the loss of the money was reported to the government, a five-member panel headed by Mr. Henry Hanson Hall, acting director of the Consular and Legal Division of the Ministry was set up to investigate the matter and submit its findings to government.
The Committee, in its recommendation to the government, indicated that for humanitarian reasons, a token percentage of the stolen amount should be refunded to the victims of the theft, but the government appears not in a position to give in to the request. This is because the government will not want to be seen as setting a precedent for others to follow.
Additionally, the government felt that since it was not all the monies that were stolen, including the fact that identifying the victims would itself be a problem, any arrangements put in place might not achieve the desired objectives.
The Chronicle learnt that the Consular section has already began receiving complaints about lost monies by some of the victims, including one person, who alleged that he has lost seventy five thousand dollars, but who upon investigations turned out to be an impostor who has never been to Libya.
The Chronicle gathered that the Ghanaian immigrants who were affected by the theft have applied for a refund of their monies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In an answer to a question, the officials said the Ghana mission in Tripoli keeps record of all funds entrusted in its care and for reasons of safety and monitoring, the mission keeps its money in Malta.
They added that the Libyan government has not submitted a report about the theft to the government and this has also made it difficult for go ernment to establish those responsible for the theft, even though the Libyan authorities assert that the Ghanaian staff of the mission is behind the theft .
Chronicle gathered that following the theft at the Ghana mission in Tripoli, similar reports of thefts were recorded in the Malian and Benin embassies where various sums of money were stolen. At the Malian Embassy a whole safe was carted away by the thieves .
Chronicle's enquiry revealed that contrary to the notion that the Libyan government has sent a compensation package for the affected Ghanaians, nothing has been received from the Libyans. Even those who were deported from that country had all their expenditure borne by the Ghanaian government.
It was also established that despite the deportation of immigrants from Tripoli, several Ghanaians have started trooping back to that country by using illegal and unapproved routes through the desert, via Niger and Burkina-Faso.
