World Cup Visa Controversy: Why we want GTA CEO sacked - Assafuah

Minority Ranking Member Vincent Ekow Assafuah has called for the suspension of Maame Efua Houadjeto, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to allow investigations into alleged misrepresentation in documents submitted to the United States Embassy.

Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile, Assafuah said a document presented as a list of GTA board members and affiliates contained more than 30 names, although he said the authority’s board had about 11 members.

He alleged that individuals who were not board members had been presented to the embassy as members or affiliates of the board.

“In this document, over 30 people were misrepresented to the US Embassy as board members or affiliates of the board of GTA,” he said.

Assafuah also referred to a WhatsApp exchange that he said involved an individual acknowledging that a visa had been obtained on the basis of being presented as a GTA board member, despite not holding that position.

He argued that the alleged discrepancies were serious enough to justify an immediate administrative response while the matter was investigated.

“If the CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority misrepresents this to the US Embassy, do you think that there’s a lot more that I have to prove before I can ask for a suspension for investigations to be done?” he asked.

The lawmaker said the Minority had initially called for action against officials at the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Authority, but had extended its demand to the GTA chief executive based on what he described as additional evidence.

Assafuah’s demand is an allegation and a call for investigation, not a finding that the GTA chief executive committed wrongdoing.