COGNAI & Verona Association defends Ghana Embassy in Rome

The Council of Ghana Nationals Association in Italy (COGNAI) and the local Ghana Association in the city Verona has jumped to the defence of the Ghana Embassy in Rome over a story published on Tuesday (August 17) on Ghana web.

The story, written under the name Kwame Anane, accused the new Ghana Ambassador to Italy, Her Excellency (Mrs.) Anita Evelyn Stokes-Hayford, as showing an act of unjust and disingenuous to Ghanaians in Italy and that her initiative, ‘Consular Services at door steps of Ghanaians in Italy’, must be recognised a service she took over.

The Ghana Embassy in Rome on 6th and 7th August carried out a weekend Consular Service in Verona at which it received 115 applications for the Ghana passport and other related documents under an exercise reported to be have been initiated by Ambassador (Mrs.) Stokes-Hayford. In the said story of Kwame Anane, headlined: “Ghana Ambassador to Italy robs each Passport Applicant €20.00”, the writer, indicated the three officials from the Consular Section of the Embassy involved in the exercise - Asher Safo, Kobby Aidoo and Eugene Mensah Larbi - must reminisce that the same exercise was adopted by the former Ghana Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Agyei-Amoama, without any extra cost. One of the lines in the story read: ‘the current Ambassador propelled her team to carry out that same operation, forcing applicants to make a registration fee of €20.00 for each applicant’.

The writer also went on to query Ambassador (Mrs.) Stokes-Hayford’s reported familiarisation tour to Ghanaians communities in Italy after which she introduced the ‘Consular Services at door steps’ exercise to help cut the cost of travels by Ghanaians to the Embassy for their documents and questioned when she took that tour.

The story of Kwame Anane also included disparaging lines against the three officials of the Embassy who were in Verona for the exercise. He wrote: “Some applicants enquired why they were being charged €20.00 for Registration apart from the actual passport fee. Sadly, one of the officials called one of the applicants who was arguing against the €20.00 extra cost outside the hall and iced up his mouth.”

The Ghana Embassy in Rome is yet to issue a statement on the story but when contacted, the Minister and Head of the Consular Section, Mr. Charles Baah, debunked all that was written in the story. In short he said: ”It’s not true.” Responding to the story, the Secretary of the Ghana Nationals Association in Verona, Stephen Kennedy Cobbinah, retorted: “I am shocked about what Kwame Anane wrote. Apparently, his name is not on the registered list of the Association and might have hidden his identity using a false name. Such malicious stories go to discredit the Embassy which is out to help Ghanaians in Italy,” he mentioned. Explaining what transpired during the exercise he said the Association prior to meeting officials of the Embassy announced that all non-members of the Association will pay a Registration Fee of €20.00 to be registered before they can be attended.

The reason behind this, he further explained, is that the Association rented the hall for the exercise, made publications and will also go to Rome to collect the documents on behalf of the applicants. He also argued there is a cost in running the Association and see no reason why non-members should gain from all that whilst the members use their money to help run the Association. “Hence, we stated that people should register with the Association before they can have the same benefits that the members have and receipts were issued on the payments,” he pointed out. The Secretary also added the three officials during the programme didn’t receive any money from the applicants, not even the passport fees, but it was the Association that collected those fees and paid it after into the accounts of the Embassy. “These are fees we have to pay before collecting the passports,” he added.

In a further statement issued by COGNAI, its General Secretary - Gilbert Abasimi - explained that the Registration and Dues charges that took place during the Consular Services was an autonomous decision by COGNAI and its associate – the Ghana Nationals Association in Verona. “These funds are entirely dedicated to the activities and support of the GNA-VR and COGNAI,” he said. The charges, he further explained, are voluntary and have nothing to do with the Passport processing fees or other Consular Services. “COGNAI and GNA-VR has its prerogative in asking for these charges as long as they remain at the services of Ghanaians especially in their unceasing quest and search for the welfare of Ghanaians citizens residing in Italy,” the General Secretary said in the statement. He again mentioned, Ghanaians citizens are not obliged to collaborate in this joint exercise of COGNAI and the Ghana Embassy to bring these services to the door steps of a thousand and one Ghanaians living in Italy. They can always travel to Rome anytime for their documents to be processed. “We deeply regret the wrong attack on the Ambassador and her staff. Such misleading and cheap publicised article is rather degrading to our journalism in Ghana,” he added.

- Reggie Tagoe