Ghana needs clear diaspora policy – Ababio

The Director of Diaspora Relations at the Presidency, Kwesi Awuah Ababio, has called for a policy to drive the agenda of Ghanaians in the diaspora, ahead of the homecoming summit on 5 July, 2017.

His call comes at a time West African leaders are expected to join Ghanaians in the diaspora at a mammoth gathering in Accra.

The summit is a direct outcome of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s election campaign pledge to involve Ghanaians in the diaspora in the development of the country.

Speaking to Class News, Mr Ababio said: “We don’t have a consistent policy as far as the diaspora is concerned, which we should be engaging ourselves that we have a consistent policy that we could use to sort of push the agenda of the diaspora and luckily those documents are all in place for us to harness and bring altogether to make it a national policy, from which we will be able to ensure that it can be implemented.

“As far as the diaspora is concerned, we are going to be engaging them from our office and this homecoming event is meant to be a summit aimed at harnessing the capital for development purposes for encouraging Ghanaians abroad to invest in Ghana.”

Meanwhile, a Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, Dr Amanda Coffie, has also called on government to revive the Non- Ghanaian Residential Secretariat to ensure quick access to information on investment opportunities and many others.

“The Non-Ghanaian Residential Secretariat, which was established after the 2001 summit, was a very laudable initiative. It used to be housed in GIPC so that members of the diaspora could come and ask of issues about legal relationships, issues about labour, issues about investment, and you could go and be directed that while you are here, if this is what you want to do, this is the organisation you go to. Now we don’t know where that secretariat is and so I can conclusively say that it no longer exists. But that secretariat really needs to come back.”