Since Dr. Martin La Kumi, former Consul General of Ghana in Toronto, was compelled to resign in June, 2002 by the NPP stalwarts in Toronto, the Ghanaian Community and other nationals seeking consular services to Ghana have been left in the cold. An attempt by the local NPP to impose a Filipino-Canadian as the Ghana Honorary Consul general backfired in May and June 2002 amid strong protests and objections from the Ghanaian Community in Toronto and beyond. In the process the intended Filipino appointment was quietly shelved.
It was from this point that things started getting more bizarre and complicated. First the office of local community lawyer, Dr.Edmund Kwaw was designated as a “Visa Application Forms Collection Depot” from where prospective Visa applicants could pick up and return visa application forms.
These, according to a recent interview with the Ghana High Commissioner, were sent to Ottawa twice a week for processing. This arrangement, however has created some kind of problems. First the lawyer’s office closed for a long holiday over the Christmas period and visa applicants have been struggling to get their applications and passports to the Ghana Mission in Ottawa for processing.
In the midst of all these our reliable sources hinted us of the appointment of former Asantefuohene of Toronto, Nana Opoku Boahene as the next Consul General, a full-time position upgraded from the previous Honorary level. Nana Boahene’s appointment, according to the well-placed sources, took effect from December 1, 2002 and he has already gone to Ghana for a couple of weeks of diplomatic orientation in the Fall.
From the late summer months throughout the Fall, we were told that Nana Boahene was seriously and actively looking for office space to house the Consulate General. In early January our sources in Toronto told us that he has now found a place somewhere in Etobicoke.
On December 28, 2002 the local Ghanaian Community Media met Nana Boahene for an interview at the end-of-year party organized by the local chapter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the Al.Qurba Banquet Hall. Asked to confirm the rumors about his appointment, Nana Boahene would not deny them. He said something close to confirming them saying that “something is in the pipe-line and the High Commissioner will make an announcement on that soon”.
Its been a whole month since the potential Consul General hinted on this announcement; nothing has happened, the community is being kept in the dark and in the meantime visa applicants and others seeking consular information are been tasked with an unnecessary burden of struggling to go to Ottawa or use couriers.
The Ghanaian News maintain that the Ghana High Commission owes the Ghanaian Community in Canada and Toronto in particular a clear explanation and a firm commitment on when Consular services will be made available to them. The cost of setting up and running the Consulate will be borne by the Ghanaian tax-payer of which this community is directly a part.
The complaints we hear from the community is getting louder and louder. They are entitled to an announcement, or an explanation as to why the province, the largest of Ghanaian communities in Canada and the one with the great potential of attracting business and other Canadian contacts with Ghana is still without a Ghanaian Consulate. And the answers to these complaints are needed NOW!!!
Since Dr. Martin La Kumi, former Consul General of Ghana in Toronto, was compelled to resign in June, 2002 by the NPP stalwarts in Toronto, the Ghanaian Community and other nationals seeking consular services to Ghana have been left in the cold. An attempt by the local NPP to impose a Filipino-Canadian as the Ghana Honorary Consul general backfired in May and June 2002 amid strong protests and objections from the Ghanaian Community in Toronto and beyond. In the process the intended Filipino appointment was quietly shelved.
It was from this point that things started getting more bizarre and complicated. First the office of local community lawyer, Dr.Edmund Kwaw was designated as a “Visa Application Forms Collection Depot” from where prospective Visa applicants could pick up and return visa application forms.
These, according to a recent interview with the Ghana High Commissioner, were sent to Ottawa twice a week for processing. This arrangement, however has created some kind of problems. First the lawyer’s office closed for a long holiday over the Christmas period and visa applicants have been struggling to get their applications and passports to the Ghana Mission in Ottawa for processing.
In the midst of all these our reliable sources hinted us of the appointment of former Asantefuohene of Toronto, Nana Opoku Boahene as the next Consul General, a full-time position upgraded from the previous Honorary level. Nana Boahene’s appointment, according to the well-placed sources, took effect from December 1, 2002 and he has already gone to Ghana for a couple of weeks of diplomatic orientation in the Fall.
From the late summer months throughout the Fall, we were told that Nana Boahene was seriously and actively looking for office space to house the Consulate General. In early January our sources in Toronto told us that he has now found a place somewhere in Etobicoke.
On December 28, 2002 the local Ghanaian Community Media met Nana Boahene for an interview at the end-of-year party organized by the local chapter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the Al.Qurba Banquet Hall. Asked to confirm the rumors about his appointment, Nana Boahene would not deny them. He said something close to confirming them saying that “something is in the pipe-line and the High Commissioner will make an announcement on that soon”.
Its been a whole month since the potential Consul General hinted on this announcement; nothing has happened, the community is being kept in the dark and in the meantime visa applicants and others seeking consular information are been tasked with an unnecessary burden of struggling to go to Ottawa or use couriers.
The Ghanaian News maintain that the Ghana High Commission owes the Ghanaian Community in Canada and Toronto in particular a clear explanation and a firm commitment on when Consular services will be made available to them. The cost of setting up and running the Consulate will be borne by the Ghanaian tax-payer of which this community is directly a part.
The complaints we hear from the community is getting louder and louder. They are entitled to an announcement, or an explanation as to why the province, the largest of Ghanaian communities in Canada and the one with the great potential of attracting business and other Canadian contacts with Ghana is still without a Ghanaian Consulate. And the answers to these complaints are needed NOW!!!
